


Giddy -  Seven Sunningdale

by Anonymous



Category: X-Men Evolution
Genre: Angst, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Old Fic, dont worry ill post the sequel, has a sad ending but the sequel fixes it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-27 03:14:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 36
Words: 113,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30116322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: The seminal fanfic of early X-Men Evo fandom, When Rogue accidentally touches Gambit and sends him into a coma, she realizes that she's got a version of him inside her head that isn't shy in sharing his opinion on her life. To make matters worse, Rogue finds herself falling for the copy of the dashing thief she's imprinted onto her mind. A repost of a fanfic any Romy fan should read. This story meant so much to me in my youth, and even though the author took it down and disappeared, I couldn't just let it rot on my hard drive any longer. This is for all the Romy fans still out there who will get a kick out of this old time-y fic, and for everyone who hasn't gotten to read it yet.
Relationships: Remy LeBeau/Rogue
Comments: 6
Kudos: 10
Collections: Anonymous





	1. Sunrise

A cool breeze swept through the room that Rogue and Kitty shared. Rogue's eyes fluttered open in response, and with a blink, she was completely awake.

That's odd, she thought. She got up to stretch, casually looking at the clock on the stand next to her bed. She almost did a double take when she read 4:00 am. She calmly waited until her eyes would adjust to the digital numbers and the 4 would turn into a 9, at which she would panic, drag her roommate from her bed and run downstairs to convince Ororo or Logan to write them a note to excuse them from their morning classes. But the 4 remained. Yes, it was 4:00 in the morning. It wasn't really the time of day that puzzled Rogue, but the fact that she was completely awake. It was as if her body or mind didn't realize it was sleeping only a couple minutes ago.

Ah guess there's a first time foh everythin'.

And with that thought in mind, she got up, her legs swiftly kicking off her covers and planting themselves squarely on her bedroom slippers. In perfect rhythm and time, she strode across to the window and drew back the curtains. It was still dark, but the early birds were chirping, assuring Rogue that the sun was fast-approaching. A sudden desire to see the sunrise outside in the cold, morning air overwhelmed her, and she felt a strange kind of excitement at the idea. Quickly, she sneaked out of the room with her toiletries and bathrobe.

She had to will herself not to sing in the shower. She caught herself smiling at everything. The sensation of hot water raining on her neck and back. The flowery smell of her shampoo. The plopping sound of lathery soap cascading down her body onto the floor of the shower. Stepping out of the steam, she had never felt so clean in her life.

Quietly, she stepped back into the room. Rogue found herself tip-toeing and holding her breath, almost afraid Kitty might be aroused from her sleep by the slightest noise. She wanted this rare morning to be hers and hers alone. Almost immediately, she rushed her preparations so that she would not miss the coming of dawn. She grabbed her regularly worn black jeans, torn at the knees, her black tank with the black wrap sweater. But her hands stopped, hovering over the soft material of the sweater.

Black was a little too depressing, especially since she was in such a good mood. And when was she ever in a good mood?

Tucking away her normal attire, she got down on her knees to open the bottom drawer of her dresser. She kept a few articles of clothing in here that were either too old to wear, gifts from Kitty in attempts to reform Rogue from her gothic style, and impulse buys at the mall - $2 for a shirt! You can't even get a cup of coffee with that money anymore! Too bad she never found any occasion that called for fuchsia zebra stripes. She finally found a pair of blue jeans that Kitty bought her. Rogue actually liked the fit, but when Kitty made her swear not to cut holes in the knees, they just somehow ended up in the bottom drawer. Pulling them on quietly, she almost jumped when Kitty grumbled something in her sleep. She started getting second thoughts about ditching her black clothes, when something caught her eye at the back of the drawer. Underneath the fuchsia zebra stripes was a flat, brown parcel bag tied up in string. She pulled it open and was hit with a familiar smell and a hint of freesia. It was the smell of Irene and her old home in Caldecott. She pulled out a white sweater, cashmere so soft that Rogue couldn't help fingering the material and pressing it against her face. It was a gift from Irene when Rogue graduated elementary school. She remembered receiving it, but it was too big on her that Irene decided to wrap it up until she was big enough to wear it. It hadn't been open until now. It was way too white to wear in   


public, but Rogue was curious to how it would fit after all these years. She gently pulled the sweater on. It had a high cowl neck and extra long sleeves that exposed only her fingers. The sweater intimately found all her curves, the cashmere felt sinfully delicious on her skin. She played with the neck, and looked askance at herself in the mirror. It was beautiful. She was beautiful. Self-consciously, Rogue scratched her head, causing a couple of her auburn locks to tumble forward. She looked at herself again. She felt so pretty that she smiled, and suddenly realized that she didn't recognize her reflection.

Could it be possible that ah don't know how ah look when ah smile?

The thought disheartened her, but as if to cheer her up, she heard the birds chirping, warning her that the sun would rise any minute now. Before she could chicken out, her legs stealthily carried her out of the room.

Before she even knew it, she was shutting the front door to the mansion closed. When she turned, the courtyard stood before her in the twilight before dawn. The lamps were still on, radiating a hazy glow amidst the morning mist. Sweet, dewy air wafted up her hair, caressing here face. She felt a shiver of excitement.

Calm down, girl, it's only the wind, she chided herself, a little disgusted with all her uncharacteristic romance. But it sure is pretty though.

She stepped down the main steps of the mansion, grandly. Taking an appreciative glance back at the courtyard, she picked up her pace across the front lawn, and sidestepped onto a dirt path. The path led into a wooded area that would then ascend onto a top of a hill that gave a good view of the lake below, the rooftops of the mansion behind and nothing but sky up ahead. From here, she would watch the sunrise. She sat down on a patch of grass, it was wet, but she was going to change out of these clothes before she went to school anyway. She hugged her knees, setting her chin on top of her folded arms. Her chin rubbed at the soft material. She looked up at the sky; it had gotten a lot brighter. Most of all the stars were already faded, but the moon was still visible. Another gust of cold wind tossed her hair back away from her face, uncluttered by her normal layers of dark make-up.

"Look at me… Ah'm the regular child o' Mother Nature here," she whispered to herself, but was surprised to find her voice sounding happy.

Why am ah so happy, anyway? What the hell was so great about today that ah'm up here in this ungodly hour with my butt soaking wet? Today was probably going to be just as any other day. Breakfast with the gang, where she would scowl at her cereal, scowl at Kitty, scowl at Kurt, scowl at Jean, and scowl all the way to school. Where she would undoubtedly scowl at her teachers, her books and the questionable cafeteria food. Then it would be another one of those grueling, redundant training sessions in the Danger Room. Which usually left her is such a state that her scowl would easily turn to scathing glares if she was rightly provoked. Just as any other day, only today, she would be possibly more crankier because she did not get enough sleep.

But she didn't believe it for a second. She felt too good. She felt alert, her senses felt like they were honed to a point. She could hear the twitter of the birds, the beat of their wings, the rustle of the leaves, and the sway of the grass. Everything felt so tangible… so alive. At this moment, the sky turned a coral pink hue, and a glowing sliver of red broke over the top of the eastern skyline. Rogue stopped in awe. Her eyes took in every detail as the light crept up to hit her face. She didn't even blink, her green eyes glittering back, challenging the beauty that she beheld. Finally, she took a deep breath of sweet air, held it and exhaled musically. Then broke out into laughter. The mirth in that tinny sound shocked her, causing her to laugh harder. When she stopped, she looked up to find the sun had already come up   


halfway over the mountains. It was a beautiful clear day. She got up and looked down at the lake, it glittered peacefully. She smiled. It was like the morning air was clearing her mind out. Her mind was clear.

Her mind was clear.

And there it was. The silence. The hum of voices in the back of her head that was always there, all the ghost psyches she absorbed that resided in the recesses of her mind: they were quiet. Or were they gone? She searched for them, almost frantically. But they weren't there. She heard nothing. She placed a hand on her head, trying to make sense of the naked peace that invaded her mind. The tips of her fingers pressed into her scalp, trying to physically make her brain work. She was thinking back. But nothing was out of the ordinary – ordinary meaning fighting off Sabretooth before he bit her head off, taking down an Acolyte and using his powers against his own teammates… wait. Who had she absorbed? She couldn't remember. Alert as she was with all her senses perked and ready, her memory seemed slow and lethargic. Squatting down, she grabbed the earth beneath her and dug her fingernails into gravel and grass, struggling to remember what happened the fight from the night before.

Ah remember grabbin' somebody, takin' him down…ah remember having his powers…

Rogue had unknowingly grabbed a couple of rocks off the ground and as she tried to remember, the rocks whined as they began to illuminate a bright pink light. She looked at her hands, startled at the glowing rocks she tossed them aside in a hurry. The rocks shot forth from her fingers, sailing uncharacteristically through the air … Knowing what would happen next, Rogue ducked and covered as the rocks blew up on the grass, leaving charred patches on the forest floor marking where they landed.

Rogue looked up, breathing fast. Now she remembered.


	2. Recollection

She stared at her hands for what seemed like hours, recalling what had happened late last night.

*

It was Sunday night, and Rogue was walking back home from the library. She brushed aside a lock of white hair out of her eyes. Her hair was getting long, past the shoulders, and she was considering whether if this was a good thing. Her short hair was a lot easier to manage, but Scott had commented on how long it had gotten.

Of course that's all he said. She wasn't sure whether he liked it long and was complimenting on it, or he preferred it short and was giving her hints to cut it. After trying to reason why he had mentioned it in the first place, she decided that it didn't matter what he thought, because she was Rogue: she was independent and couldn't care less what anyone else thought of her. The same lock of hair fell over her eyes again, and huffily tucking it behind her ears, she again began to agonize why Scott had mentioned her hair.

"It's a monster!"

Rogue jumped up, her eyes quickly darting to where the scream came from. The screams multiplied and she heard the stampeding of feet.

"No! It's one of them muties!"

Rogue had no idea what was going on, but she could recognize the bright red suit with flamethrowers as arms anywhere. She agilely dodged and parried around the people who rushed at her, avoiding body contact being second nature to her, and found St. John Allerdyce in all his glorious colors shooting off his hoses like a crazed maniac.

Not that that was totally out of the norm, but this was a bit too much, even for him.

"Stop that, you maniac, don't you know we're in-!" Rogue started, but her voice was drowned out by the hissing of the flames. When he turned his back on her, she rushed forward taking off one of her gloves, trying to get close enough to absorb him. But before she could finish off the gap between him and her, he suddenly turned, flames reflecting off his goggles. His face was twisted into a maniacal grin, and Rogue noted fearfully that he was drooling uncontrollably.

"What the-?" Rogue took a couple steps back. His neck went lax and his head lolled around until it stopped with him jeering up at the sky. Suddenly, he turned his arms at her and released another stream of fire. Somersaulting to the side, she could feel the heat suffocating her. The whole street was up in flames. The buildings around them were going to collapse if she didn't do something. She got up again, fighting to breathe through the fumes that choked her.

She squinted when she found Pyro, and broke out into a mad sprint towards him. Breaking through waves and waves of heat, she lunged at his body, her weight heavy enough to tackle him down. They rolled around, Rogue's arm getting entangled in one of his hoses, preventing her from touching his exposed cheeks. She felt herself being lifted, and with curious strength, Pyro threw her off of his back. She landed several feet away from him, crashing into a garbage can, but not without ripping off one of the hoses that fueled his arms. Pain tore through her back, and there was ringing in her ears. It took her a moment to realize the ringing was sirens. Cursing, she pulled herself up onto her feet.   


Pyro was struggling with his hoses, the one she torn off had gotten snagged onto the loop of one of his boots. But instead of simply reaching down to pluck off the snag, he shook ferociously like a rabid dog. Rogue looked on in horror as he aimed his other arm, the one with the working hose, at his leg. She ran to him, to try to prevent him from doing he'll definitely regret later, when suddenly a dark tall figure emerged from behind Pyro. With a thud, Pyro fell forward, then reeled back shooting his good arm at his attacker. He shot again and again, flame rolling out from his arms in erratic jerks, the figure evaded each one patiently, then sailing through the air, he hit Pyro squarely in the jaw with what seemed like a long stick that had just materialized out of his hand. Rogue stared at the battle ensuing before her, not sure if she should interfere or not. She had slowly paced backwards her eyes riveted ahead, until her back met a wall. Her arms reached behind to brace herself, when she touched something furry. She heard a low growl escape the wall that she was leaning upon. She looked up to find Sabretooth's hot breath full on her face. The sight alone should have caused her to pass out, if not the smell, but Rogue's survival skills flicked on and she jumped backwards whirling around to face her new enemy. She crouched low and swung to hit Sabretooth with her gloveless arm. He caught her attack, slow and weak from exhaustion, easily by the elbow and pinned Rogue to the ground.

"Well if it isn't one of the X-men," he growled.

Rogue thought of a sassy comeback but was disappointed when coughs racked her body instead. That didn't stop her from shooting the overgrown feline a defiant glare.

"You the ones responsible for Pyro?" Sabretooth demanded, his claws pressing into the thick material of her jacket.

"W-what?" Rogue managed to splutter. "What are ya talkin' about?"

He gave another threatening growl, baring his sharp teeth at her, his grip tearing through her jacket. "Back up off de femme, Sabretooth!"

Rogue swerved her head to the side to see the tall figure who was fighting Pyro before. She couldn't see him very well in her position, but she recognized the voice.

"She's a mutant, Gambit! One of Xavier's kids! It ain't no coincidence she's here!"

Rogue struggled to understand, but between baring the brunt of Sabertooth's weight, the lack of oxygen and the fumes tearing up her eyes, she didn't have much success. What she did realize was that she was in the middle of an Acolyte party, and they really didn't know what was going on themselves.

"Ain't de best time o'place for an inquistion! We talk to her off de streets, hein?"

He was yelling, the sirens getting closer and the buildings starting to crash down into the street. She felt Sabretooth's weight ease off of her. He stood erect, jerking her up with him. She was still captive in his grip, a hand gripping the sleeve of her jacket around her one bare wrist, making sure she wouldn't touch him.

Looking up, she saw Gambit shrug Pyro's limp form onto his shoulder. Gambit's shirt was a tattered mess, most of his chest and arms exposed from the fight.

Pyro must have succeeded in burning off some of his clothes, Rogue thought tiredly. She wasn't thinking straight. But she knew one thing. She wasn't going anywhere with these guys, not if she could   


help it.

With that thought, she brought her knee up, and brought her heel down hard on Sabretooth's hairy, bare foot. With a wail, he released – chucked – her forward into Gambit. Gambit caught her, dropping Pyro in the process. Sabretooth roared in anger, reaching ear-deafening levels.

"You little bi-!"

"Sabretooth!" Gambit yelled in admonition, but Sabretooth had already started stalking towards Gambit, his thoughts bent on punishing Rogue. Rogue pushed off of Gambit, bringing her hand up to his bare chest. At her touch, she felt his whole body stiffen as she felt his soul vacuum into her. She stopped quickly, just enough to keep him conscience and her with a weapon.

Spinning on her heel, she faced Sabretooth. In one deft movement, she picked up debris from the ground, charged it and hurled it at her assailant. Sabretooth took the blow in the stomach, doubling over backwards. Then, much to Rogue's dismay, Sabretooth recovered quickly, righting himself on his hind legs and then launching himself forward. Before Rogue could find anything else to toss at the airborne mutant, he hurtled into her. She flew back, his claws pressed onto her chest and shoulders, straight into a disoriented Gambit. All three of them crash-landed onto the concrete, Rogue sandwiched between Sabretooth and Gambit.

Suddenly, a familiar sensation washed over Rogue. New visions, voices and thoughts erupted around her. As if in slow motion, she turned her head to see her hand plastered onto Gambit's forearm. She tried to lift her hand off, but it was pinned down firmly at the wrist by a mean, angry claw. She felt him empty out into her. She struggled to stop the powers, her powers. Gasped and choked, possibly for some air or possibly on her sobs. Darkness cowed her vision, pain searing through her entire body, and before consciousness completely escaped her, she heard a piercing cry echo all around her. She wasn't sure whether it emitted from her own lungs, from the man below her, from the man on top of her or from the sirens that had finally arrived.

Rogue blinked at her hands. Standing on top of the serene hilltop, the sun was still rising behind her. She swallowed hard. As if she forgot to breathe during her whole reverie, she exhaled suddenly and drank up the fresh oxygen in the air in desperation. Her forehead was glistening with cold sweat.

How had she forgotten something so horrific?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunning's Original Author's Note:  
> Hee hee... man this fanfic stuff is addictive~! Writing, more than reading! Thanks for all the lovely reviews.
> 
> To Tary chang: sorry hun, this is a remy/rogue fic... can't really fathom anything else ... just not too creative that way.
> 
> To everybody else: Hurrah~! It's Remy and Rogue~~


	3. Questions

She walked back to the mansion in a stupor. Maybe running would have let loose the frustration she was feeling, but she felt like her body should have been worn out by yesterday's battle and ought to take it easy. The curious thing was she felt no residual pain in her body. Being slammed against garbage cans, against flame-throwers, against Sabretooth all in the middle of a raging firestorm should have taken a toll on her body. But there was nothing, not a bruise, not a scratch or even a sore muscle. She felt fine. She felt better than fine. Or did she? Was waking up 4 in the morning without feeling a trace of sleepiness a sign of good health? She looked down at herself, the brilliant white of the cashmere laughing back at her. Had she gone temporarily insane in the early morning? Thinking back, she pictured herself, laughing out loud at the sunrise all by herself, drinking up the air as if it was spiked. A shudder went through her.

How completely mortifyin', Ah'm glad nobody saw me or Ah'd never live it down.

Rogue chuckled, thinking what might have gone through a person's mind if they saw her in such a state. Then she stopped. She really shouldn't even be chuckling. Last night was serious stuff, she really shouldn't dismiss it as if it was trivial. To keep her focused, she slowly made herself recap what had happened. She was coming home from the library. The mansion was too loud for her to concentrate on her paper, and Kitty kept on listening to her J. Lo CD on repeat, as if each song wasn't repetitive enough. Then she stumbled upon Pyro, laughing, drooling…sick. He was sick. He had to have been. Something about him was not right. Then Gambit had fought him. Another testament to the point that the boy was sick, if he was a danger even to his own teammates. Then, there was Sabretooth. Mean, ugly, snarling, drooling… otherwise completely normal. But what did he say to her? He had accused her and the X-Men for Pyro's behavior. She chewed on this idea, until she became puzzled at the thought of the X-men. How did she wake up back in the mansion? She must have passed out. But what had happened afterwards? And the sirens? Had the normals discovered her? Her heart lunged at the idea, but she forced herself to remain calm. She was, after all, in the mansion, and Kitty was sleeping soundly next to her. So whatever happened mustn't have been life-threatening. And besides, it wasn't like she woke up in the Med Bay like that last time, when she had absorbed Mystique… still didn't want to think about her. The Professor had stabilized her mind, tried to quiet the entities from usurping her being. But even after the therapy, her mind throbbed, the voices and shadows still reminding her they were still there and that they will always be there. But now…where were they? She had gotten a little used to thinking over a din, like conversing at a crowded restaurant. But now they were gone. Had the Professor's treatment belatedly kicked in?

Or did it have something to do with him? Who?

You know who… Gambit? "ROGUE!"

Rogue shot straight out of her skin. "Holy crap, ya scared me! Why ya'll gotta yell?"

She looked up to find the whole X-Men family looking at her. Well, almost the whole family, Logan and Mr. McCoy were missing. She must have wandered inside the house without even noticing that she had arrived until she was in the foyer confronted with angry faces.   


"Rogue! Where were you? You have a lot of nerve to leave the house without a single word!" Kitty scolded, hands on hips.

"Sorry, didn't think ah needed yo' permission," Rogue snapped, taken aback by the assault.

"Don't give me that attitude, Rogue. I'm not even… you had me so…ergh!" Kitty yelled, throwing her hands up.

Immediately, Rogue felt sorry. Of course, they had all been worrying. Heck, she even surprised herself by going out at 4 in the morning, she didn't expect them to understand. But Kitty had really outdone herself with worry, and she was pissed. She completely lost her valley girl dialect.

"Ah…ah'm sorry," Rogue apologized in a quiet, strained voice. She wasn't very good at apologies, but she was touched by Kitty's concern, all of their concern. Scott and Kurt even had their uniforms on, as if they were preparing to go out on a search-and-rescue mission for her at the break of dawn.

Kurt nudged Kitty aside, laying a hand on Rogue's shoulder.

"Ve're just really glad you're back home, Rogue," he said, unable to hide the relief in his voice. "Ve ver thinking maybe you got abducted in your sleep or something."

"And the Professor and I couldn't even locate you telepathically, we were about to prepare Cerebro to scan for you," Jean said, scratching her head. Rogue smiled inwardly, even Jean didn't look perfect if she lost some sleep. But she felt a little bad, considering the red head was willing to sacrifice her beauty sleep on account of her.

"How far did you go, Rogue, that the Professor couldn't even find you?" Scott asked, his arms folded in front of him.

"Ah was just takin' a walk in the front lawn," Rogue said, puzzled. The Professor came closer in his hoverchair. Rogue suddenly wondered what the chair was fueled by, unleaded gas or maybe just a really big battery.

"You were out in the front yard?" the Professor asked, bringing Rogue back to more important matters. She nodded simply. His brows furrowed.

"I don't get it. Then how come Jean and the Prof couldn't, like, psyche you out and junk?" Kitty asked. Rogue shrugged in answer, fondly noting the "like" and "junk" with a mental sigh of relief.

"Maybe it has something to do with him." Rogue looked up at Scott.

"Who?" she asked, slowly, cautiously… You know who… "You don't remember?" Scott frowned.

"Gambit?" Rogue voiced quietly. She felt a chill go down her spine. Something just felt eerily out of place when she said that name.

Scott nodded in answer. Suddenly, Rogue wanted to know everything. How was she back home? What happened last night after she fainted? What happened to Sabretooth? To Pyro? And Gambit? Maybe it   


has something to do with him… What about Gambit?

She felt an arm go around her shoulders and looked up to find Ororo.

"Come child," she said soothingly. "You have many questions that need answering and so do we. I suggest the rest of you get ready for school, it's almost half past six."

With that, the early morning meeting dissipated. Rogue being led away into the Professor's office with Ororo's arm still around her.

"He's what?" Rogue yelled in alarm.

"He's downstairs, in the Med Lab, Hank is looking after him," the Professor stated calmly.

Rogue had related her story to him with calm that surprised even her. The Professor sensed the disturbance on Sunday night, sending the team out with the Blackbird. When they landed, Ororo calmed the winds to stop the spreading of the fire and called the rain to wash it out. There was little to be salvaged of the entire block, but they found Rogue sandwiched between her adversaries. Instantly, a fight broke out between Sabretooth and the X-Men, namely Wolverine. Apparently, Rogue had not absorbed Sabretooth at all. After a few blows, however, he turned tail and ran, taking Pyro's body along with him. Gambit had been left behind, being completely unconscious under Rogue's prone form. The X-Men took both of them back to the mansion before the authorities arrived.

"So… how is he?" she asked nervously. She couldn't get the image of her hand suctioned onto his forearm out of her head.

"He's…" Ororo hesitated. She gave Rogue a long hard look, one that seemed to want to say that Rogue should not feel guilty and how the situation couldn't have been helped. Rogue appreciated the sentiment, but it didn't lessen the blow anyway. "He's in a coma."

That ever-so-familiar sense of guilt swept over her, she waited for the voices to berate her. But there were no voices. No accusations. No laments. No torment. It made her feel like she was getting off too easily, and made her feel guiltier. After a long silence, Rogue got up.

"Professah, do ya think I could leave now?" she asked, trying to creep in some exhaustion that she didn't feel into her voice. She wondered if he knew she was faking it. She wondered if he knew she didn't hear voices anymore. She wondered if he could even enter her mind anymore. She looked at him, speculating if his silence had anything to do with his inability to read her. The thought that his telepathy might not reach her comforted her and worried her at the same time. What if something happened, and even the Professor couldn't help her? What would she do then? In any case, she wanted some more time to think. By herself.

She had not ventured to tell him what had happened this morning with the rocks. She never really fathomed what might happen to her if she held onto a mutant a little too long, sucked out a little too much. This was the first time she put a mutant into a coma, and she wasn't entirely sure if the adopted powers would stay or go. One night had passed, and it had stayed.

Too many questions bogged her mind. She needed time to sort them out without feeling the calculating calm of the professor down her neck.   


Finally, the professor relented, a fatherly frown graced his expression. "Yes, Rogue, you may leave. And if you feel like missing school today, I'll understand."

Rogue turned that thought around, but decided against it. She needed to ask Kitty something. "That's okay, Professah. Ah think Ah can manage to go to school. Besides it'd be a pity if Ah had to go through all that Ah went through last night for a school paper, and end up not turnin' it in on time," she tossed flippantly.

He nodded. "Just be careful, Rogue." "Ah will."

Rogue got up. Storm gave her a reassuring smile. She smiled back and turned to leave. "Wait, Rogue."

Rogue looked back at the Professor, her hair flipping lightly around her face.

"Was there any reason you decided to go out so early today? Especially with a wardrobe change, I might add?" The Professor smiled, trying to hide the analytical nature of the question.

Plop, plop, plopping of the soap…cashmere so soft…a beautiful girl in the mirror…lamps in the mist…laughing and laughing and laughing at nothing but the sunrise…

"No reason."

Rogue turned back to the door. Opened it. Then closed it behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunning's Original Author's Note:  
> Ahhhhh~~ Sorry there was no Remy in this one... he might be in the next... I hope so, anyway. Don't wanna drag the story longer than it should.
> 
> To Wish ME Lovely, I hate it when people dress Rogue in skimpy clothing too. And that maybe if she could touch, she wouldn't be a Goth or she would start dressing like a slut. However, I decided that in this fanfic, she IS gonna start experimentin' a little outside her Gothic bubble. But her change, in attitude and style, is not natural, and I'll explain why that is as the story (please god let it) progresses.
> 
> ishandahalf: my fingers are itching to type some mushiness but I put Gambit in a frickin' coma and Rogue, at this point in the story don't even have the "feelings" for him yet (I think it's funny how some people read a bit too much into the part where Gambit gives Rogue the exploding card thing and Rogue is supposed to have the major hots for him now... not my idea of romance, monsieur), so in order to attempt some credibility, I'm gonna have to ease things in... but definitely it's coming...
> 
> thank you for the support, I'll try to update as fast as I can... but midterms are coming so I might fall back a little


	4. First Glance

One step.

One step would confirm all her fears. Perhaps not answer her questions, but if there was anywhere to start, it would be here.

Taking a few quick breaths for preparation, Rogue stepped forward. The automatic glass door, sensing her presence, swished open and she went inside.

The Med Bay was always kept nice and tidy by Mr. McCoy. Since he moved into the mansion, the Med Bay almost became his living quarters. He had three die-hard computers always buzzing away in the back corner of the room. Next to that he had rows and rows of plant specimens, all attached to homemade sap collectors of Mr. McCoy's own design. In the middle of the room, there was an island which he used as a lab station, a big fume hood that quietly sucked volumes of air hanging above it. Three more fume hoods stood on the far right wall, a tall shelf of brown jars holding various chemicals and compounds below it. Four cots newly made with crisp, white sheets lay to the left, and the back left hallway led to two more private rooms for patients who stayed overnight. She knew the rooms well, she herself having been held captive in one of the two for weeks on end.

"And to whom do I owe the honor of your presence here, fair lady?"

Rogue looked up to find Mr. McCoy coming out of the stockroom. He closed it behind him, nimbly walking around all the complex machinery scattered about the room. He winked amicably, then gesturing at her outfit, he brought up his hand to give her the thumbs-up sign.

"Hi… Ah just…," Rogue started. Out with it, she thought to herself. Why was she so nervous? She cleared her throat to try again.

"Came down to see a certain visitor, did you?" he asked quietly, his blue, furry face emitted solemn compassion. "He's in your old room… but before you do, would you mind if I query of your whereabouts this morning, Miss Rogue?"

Rogue massaged her neck. Her nervousness wouldn't die down. "Ah just wanted to take a walk… didn't think it was that big of a deal."

"Well, you did give us quite a scare, last night. How are you feeling by the way?"

"Great," Rogue answered, a little too quickly. "Ah mean, ah feel fine. No broken bones or nothin'."

The Beast nodded, thoughtfully. She thought maybe she could tell him, should tell him. About how she had absolutely no pain on an inch of her body, and even of her mind. That she never felt this good in her whole entire life, and that it scared her, but her mind was so free that she couldn't concentrate on anything but the stupidest things, and how this made her smile and made her feel tingly all over…

She should. But she wouldn't.

"Well, you told me you were fine last night, so I suppose there really was no reason to suspect otherwise, but you never know about these mutant-related injuries –"

"Wait, what?" Rogue interrupted. "Ah told you ah was fine last night?"   


He blinked, looking mildly surprised. "Well, yes."

"When? Ah mean, ya talked to me? After the fight? Ah thought ah was passed out…?"

"You were. We picked you and the young man back there up in the Blackbird and brought you to the Med Bay. We were getting both of you settled in, when you woke up saying you were feeling better and that you wanted to sleep in your room."

Rogue stared at the blue, furry man as if she was looking at him for the first time.

"…What…?" she whispered, a hand going to her head, a question tying up her brows. "That can't be right… ah don't remember…" she said, her words dying under her breath. A chill went down her spine, seeping its way into her neck, her arms, into her fingers. Why wouldn't she be able to remember waking up in the med lab, asking to go to her room, and getting into bed, even changing into her pajamas?

"Rogue?" Mr. McCoy's eyes filled with concern.

Rogue looked up, her eyes wide in surprise. She blinked hard, twice, and wet her lips.

"Ah'm fine, Mr. McCoy. Really. Ah couldn't remember for a sec… what happened after the fight, ya know? Must have drained me more than Ah thought," she lied.

"Well, would you like to tell me about it?" he asked, his expression hopeful.

"Ah think Ah'll be fine, nothing really, Ah just can't seem to remember it all too clearly… maybe Ah was kinda half-asleep. Did…did ah sound tired when Ah talked to ya?"

"You did, actually. You sounded very strained, that's why objected at first when you said that you wanted to leave. But seeing as how all your vitals were normal, I really had no reason not to sign your release. Still, to be safe, I called Kitty to escort you back to your room."

Rogue nodded. That would explain how she made it to her room and got changed for bed. Knowing Kitty, she probably made her wash off her make-up and brush her teeth, too. But she didn't feel any better. Something was wrong. Last night, this morning, even now, something felt wrong. She looked up, past the doctor, to the back of the room, her eyes falling on the little hallway that would turn into the room that kept him boxed away. It was him. He was the key to everything, she felt it in her bones.

"Is it okay if Ah see him?" she said, her eyes never leaving her target.

Mr. McCoy stepped out of her way, and made a sweeping hand gesture to let her past. The motion distracted her, causing her eyes to flicker back to him. She smiled at him. He was so nice. She never had a family physician before, but Mr. McCoy was like her personal in-house doctor. Ever since her breakdown that hospitalized her, she got used to his presence and felt almost comforted by his regular check-ups, his deep chuckle, his warm, intelligent eyes and even his lame jokes… She snapped back to attention. Without further thought, she moved her legs forward, walking ahead briskly, her eyes focused on the hallway. She couldn't help her thoughts from getting off on a tangent. She finally slowed, when she saw the glass door ahead of her.

She could make out his feet from underneath the sheets, almost dangling off the foot of the bed. The glass door swished open, and then swished closed. She hesitated before she looked up at him, still focusing on his feet. Finally, she raised her eyes to see his full form. Her whole body froze in one   


glance.

There he was. Lying down, he seemed almost peaceful being dead to the world. He still had most of his clothes on, which was a tight, navy blue uniform that had been unbuttoned at his neck and down the wide expanse of his chest, allowing wires to creep in to monitor his heartbeat. His hair was pulled back from his eyes, falling lightly on the pillow, but a few wayward strands fell across his forehead and framed his temples, which had suction cups stuck onto it, connecting him to another set of machines. His face was chiseled and smooth, but had a day's worth of stubble on his chin. His eyes were closed and locked away deep below dark, angled eyebrows. His lips set into a grim line. Needless to say, he was terribly good-looking. A tall, lean mass of perfectly proportioned bones and sinewy muscles. In any other day, Rogue might have blushed if she found herself in this situation. But all she did was stand rooted next to the door.

She felt like screaming in horror. She felt nauseous and dizzy. Closing her eyes and clutching her stomach, she waited for the swimming in her head to stop. It did after awhile, and she opened her eyes again slowly. She made a tenacious step forward and continued until she was next to the bed, an arm's distance away. Something stirred in her, and she looked at his exposed skin: smooth, lightly tanned, looking hard as stone and yet supple as silk as it covered ripples of muscles and highways of hard veins. She stepped closer until she could almost finger the bed sheets. Her eyes settle on his naked forearm. Then she slowly looked down at her own arm, pulling up the sleeve of her cashmere sweater until she saw the pale, milky white of her own flesh. She thought she heard something but didn't pay much attention. As if in slow motion, she saw her arm lift up and reach out closer to his. Even closer. Her finger tips hovered over his wrist. She felt blood, hot and burning in her cheeks, her heart thumping its way into her throat. She gasped. She shook her head sharply, realizing what she was doing but as she pulled away, a scream exploded in her head. An angry scream, followed by another, then another. They talked, they insulted, they swore, they yelled, a multitude of voice screaming and screaming. She threw up her arms, her palms pressed to her temples as if to vice it.

She stumbled back, still holding her head. The cacophony blew up all around her, causing her to see bright spots. As if all the voices in her head had decided to ambush her in a mad rush, to give her one last searing moment of torment… they wouldn't stop. Please make them stop. She was on her knees now, knocking something over, not hearing the clatter of the fallen object over the strident, grating multitude of voices that kept swelling, pounding, cursing…

Stop. Please… stop.

And they did. Just as sudden as they started. Dead silence settled. A swish. Footsteps. Rushed footsteps.

"Rogue! Are you okay? What happened?" It was Mr. McCoy, he was crouched by her side, an arm around her shoulder.

"N-n-nothin'," she managed to stutter out. She pushed herself up from the floor. "Ah fell." "Are you sure, do you want to lie down for-?"

"No! No… Ah'm okay," Rogue said, avoiding eye contact, afraid he might see how terrified she was. "Ah need to get to school. Ah'll talk to ya later."

With that, she pushed out from underneath his arm, rushed out the door and into the hallway, without a second look back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunning's Original Author's Note:  
> Well, here is my 4th installment. I'm having too much fun writing the details that i can't get to answering any questions! So please be patient with me. I swear I have everything worked out!
> 
> Ishandahalf: pyro's not on crack, but it would probably be almost refreshing if i just kept it simple like that, wouldn't it? But no, I can't take the easy way out. He flipped out for a reason, and it's fairly complex! I actually spent hours working through the reasoning. I kinda jumped into this story, without realizing where I was taking it. To be honest, I just wrote the first chapter wanting to model Rogue in a nice, cashmere sweater. But then it just kinda got twisted at the end. But I think I totally have everything figured out, sorta... okay, maybe not everything, but it'll all get worked out. If all fails, Pyro was on crack. ha ha
> 
> Lisboa: Good luck with college. It's a heckuva lot better than high school.
> 
> Man I wish I could thank everyone who wrote me reviews, they're really uplifting. But I hope I'm not getting too bigheaded after this. =P Yay! It's the weekend. So I'll try to post a new chapter every night. Well, maybe not Sunday night. That's cram night. Heck, why not... I'm a genius,(*cough cough* see bigheaded) I'll post one on Sunday night too. ^.^


	5. School

"Hey."

"Hi…" Kitty glanced up at Rogue's reflection in the mirror. With a sigh, she swung around to face Rogue and gave her a smile. "Sorry I like totally blew up on you today, Rogue. I mean I was really worried, you know?"

"Yeah, Kitty, I know," Rogue said. She went to her bed, and fell back onto the mattress, her hair spilling over the edge of the bed. She wished she felt some good ol' exhaustion to complement the situation she was in. But of course, she felt nothing. She heard nothing. The voices that had just momentarily attacked her in full force had submerged into nothingness and all she heard was her own thoughts echoed back to her as if in she was in an empty warehouse. Maybe it was the voices that kept her focused and acting normal. Of course, having the voices in her head was a given. Maybe their absence explained her behavior this morning. Did she need them in order to go about the day without being distracted by everything and anything? She would think that their presence would be more distracting, but then again, thinking over the hubbub was a norm for her. She chewed on her lip, staring up at the ceiling blankly. It was made out of stucco, so that she could almost start discerning patterns and images from the irregular bumps. She tilted her head. That one almost looked like a bunny rabbit. She grinned lopsidedly.

Kitty had been looking at Rogue the whole time since she had entered the bedroom in a haze. She observed her roommate's strange behavior, her eyebrow quirking in disturbed amusement.

"So…. Uhhhh… are you going to school, or is the Professor like, letting you skip today?" Rogue shook her head. "Nah, I'm goin'."

"Well, then, get up cuz we're gonna miss our ride with Jean if you don't hurry," Kitty said, hovering over Rogue's form on the bed.

Rogue nodded, picking herself up from the bed. She started heading out the door.

"Like… hello, Rogue? Aren't you like forgetting something?" Kitty stood, pointing at Rogue's backpack.

"Oh," Rogue uttered simply, as she shouldered the pack, she noticed a rip on one of the straps. It must have ripped in the fight with Sabretooth or Pyro, she thought absently.

"Ar-aren't you gonna wear your gloves?" Kitty said hesitantly, almost afraid to bring up the subject that Rogue had to wear them everyday.

Rogue blinked. She had completely forgotten her gloves. She never forgot her gloves. Sometimes she forgot to take them off, but never to put them on. She had gone outside, walked around the mansion, talked with almost everybody, the Professor, Ororo, Mr. McCoy… without her gloves. She shuddered. Thinking about how Ororo had put her arm around her when she had led her to the Professor's study. Or when Hank was crouched low around her. What if she had pushed off his hand with hers, assuming that the gloves were on? Cringing, she rushed to the top drawer of her dresser, picking out a random pair and hastened to put them on. She tugged the fingers on fiercely, angry at herself for not realizing it sooner.   


She felt Kitty's hand on her shoulder and flinched under her touch.

"It's okay, Rogue, nothing bad could have happened," her voice came quietly, as if she was apologizing.

So Kitty had sensed what she was thinking. Rogue didn't look at her.

"C'mon, Rogue, let's go." Kitty took her by the elbow and pulled Rogue towards the door. Rogue conceded to follow, when something caught her eye. Her reflection in the mirror was a complete stranger.

"Wait! Kitty! Ah can't go to school like this!" Rogue yelled, twisting out of Kitty's grasp.

"Why not? That sweater is like so totally beautiful, Rogue! It makes your like skin glow or somethin'!"

"Not in a million years am Ah gonna walk in the halls of Bayville High lookin' like… lookin' like… Jean!" Rogue yelled disgustedly, ripping out her drawers to look for her black clothes.

"You don't look like Jean, Rogue!" Kitty soothed. She sidled up to Rogue, her voice all hushed, "You look better than Jean."

Rogue stopped, her face screwed up in perplexed disbelief. "What the hell do you mean by that?"

"I mean that I'm gonna, like, totally risk whatever to get you to school exactly the way you look right now!" she announced loudly, grabbing Rogue's arm and yanking her down into the carpet.

"KITTY! STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!" Rogue yelled, but Kitty sped through the walls and the floors and the ceilings until she slipped into the roof of Jean's SUV, parked and revving in the garage of the mansion. Rogue landed roughly on the backseat of the car, finally yanking her arm away from Kitty's freakishly strong hold. She might have tried to pry her arm from her earlier, but decided against it when she got a visual of herself slamming into a wall.

"Kitty, what's gotten into you?" Rogue screamed, reeling on the girl who couldn't stop laughing, either out of humor or fear. "Ah swear… you are so dead once Ah get out of these clothes…" Rogue threatened, as she reached for the door handle.

"Jean!" Kitty yelled. Suddenly, the door locks clicked down. Rogue tried pulling the lock up but realized it was useless when it was being telekinetically held down.

"My dear Rogue, you are not going anywhere," Jean said, failing miserably at an impression of Alfred Hitchcock. She looked around at Rogue from the driver's seat, her eyes glittering madly.

"You guys are insane! What the hell is wrong with you two!" Rogue gasped in exasperation. Then repeatedly yanked at the door handle in futility. There was a rapping at the passenger front window. Rogue looked up to find Scott, trying the locked handle from the outside.

"Hey Jean, can you open the door?" his voice came, muffled by the window separating them.

"Sorry, Scott. Can't risk it. Take your own car today, huh?" Jean yelled so he could hear her past the window, smiling warmly.

"What-?" Scott asked, his eyes questioning.   


"Scott! Scott! Help me!" Rogue screamed, slapping at the tinted window of the car. "Jean and Kitty are holding me against mah will-!"

But he didn't hear the last part, because Jean threw the car in reverse, causing him to jump back in surprise. The screeching of her tires reverberated off the walls of the garage, as she peeled out and away from the mansion.

When they reached the school, Jean finally clicked opened the doors. Victory written proudly on her face. Kitty laughed nervously, feeling the hot pricks of Rogue's venomous glare. If looks could kill…

"Ah hate you people," Rogue breathed, her voice even, quiet and dangerous.

*

The day didn't go as bad as Rogue thought.

Actually, it was quite humorous considering nobody, not even her teachers recognized who she was. At best, Rogue got glances, a few double-takes and a handful of stares as she could sense the people trying to figure out who she was: she looked familiar, but then again, maybe not. No one even fathomed that she might have been that one quiet Gothic girl, even if her hair had looked the same. But then again, the town of Bayville seemed rather oblivious. On many occasions, school dances, football games, local concerts, there was mutant activity about as subtle as a crashing piano, but the people were never really able to put a finger on it. Perhaps Professor Xavier chose this town for a reason. The locals were dumb.

Speaking of dumb, Rogue thought, as a tall, blond jock with a letterman jacket came into class, apologizing half-heartedly for being late to the last period of the day. He looked around the class, which was Beginning French, and to Rogue's surprise, he meandered across the seats to the back of the room and took the seat right next to her. He turned to look at her. She tried to focus looking down at her notes, but he made such a point to stare at her that she finally looked up at him in exasperation. Before she could snap at him, his blue eyes glittered and smiled disarmingly, thrusting his hand at her to shake. She looked at it warily, and he took it away when she didn't take it. Apparently, that wasn't enough to hinder him.

"Hi. My name's Duncan," he said quietly. "First time seeing a pretty face like yours, are you new?"

Rogue could have burst out, fall on the floor and roll with laughter, but she managed to buffer it down to a smile. This seemed to encourage the boy.

"So… are you a new student to Bayville?"

Rogue looked at him and was a little shocked to find herself nodding. "Really? I thought so. I'd remember seeing someone as cute as you."

What an idiot, Rogue thought, wondering why Jean had considered him boyfriend material. But then again, she had to admit he was pretty eye-candy.

"So what's your name?" Duncan asked in a hushed whisper.

Rogue considered blurting out her name and sending him tumbling out of his chair in shock. But she hesitated. Although that would be funny, she didn't want word to get out that she was dressed like this.   


Besides, this situation had potential to get a LOT funnier.

"Je m'appelle … Amelie," Rogue said daintily. She was a little surprised to find the language rolling off her tongue effortlessly.

Duncan blinked. "Huh?"

Rogue forced herself not to insult him right then and there. Instead, she smiled. "My nom… name… c'est Amelie," she said haltingly in English, trying to fake a French-English accent. She didn't sound too convincing, but really, it was Duncan she was trying to fool, here. Easy bait. She could see his slow brain registering, and with disgust, guessed what he was thinking when she saw him smile lewdly.

"Oh…er…jay mah pell Duncan…Dun-Ken," he said, slowly reiterating his name as if she might not understand it. Rogue nodded.

"Enchante, Dung Can," she said, deliberately mispronouncing his name. "No, no, sweet thing, Duncan. D-U-N-C-A-N," he said.

Bravo, the boy can spell his name.

"Dung Cann…?" she faltered, then smiled apologetically. "Desole, mon English… c'est mal…er…not good, comprendez-vous?"

"Eh. That's all right, babe. Close enough, uh, what was your name again?" "Amelie."

"Amaylie..? Hey, isn't that a movie or something?"

Rogue was surprised that he knew the film, she was betting he wouldn't. "Oui."

"Cool…uh…bien, um, so I was wondering, since you're new in town, would you like me to show you around? You know, so you can get a good… feel for the place?" he offered graciously. She could almost, see his perverted mind working.

"Desole, Dung Can. Vous… you… 'not my type,' merci."

"Well, baby doll. What's your type then?" He drew in closer. The closeness bugged Rogue and so she pulled away. She could tell he was a little offended.

Rogue took a deep breath. She couldn't take this act anymore, and she decided that humiliating Duncan now would more than make up for everybody knowing she came dressed in non-Gothic garbs for one day. Smiling sweetly, she looked at Duncan, and spoke in plain volume, so that those around her could hear.

"I like a boy who is, first of all, smarter than my shoe. You have a pretty face, but I've seen prettier. I think you are pompous, chauvinistic, and that you put way too much faith in your mousse and that felt jacket, which you feel you must adorn every single waking moment of your life. The fact that you are so popular makes me worry for the human race. I would spit on your existence if it wasn't so pathetic. So I think I'll pass you up on your offer of a date with you, around this God-forsaken neighborhood, and   


spend my time staring at a wall, because it possesses three times more wit than you….Dung Can." She paused, smiling politely at him. Duncan's eyes were glossed over.

But then he suddenly smiled, shrugging.

"Sure, babe, whatever you say. So… I'll pick you up tonight at 6?" Duncan asked, his eyes glued onto Rogue affectionately. "I have a sports car," he added, wiggling his eyebrows for effect.

Rogue looked at him, her mouth agape. The boy couldn't be this dense. Something was off. She looked up to realize everybody had stopped to hear her monologue. Her French teacher sauntered over, her eyes smiling brightly at Rogue.

"Tres bien! Votre Francais est tres magnifique! Ou habitez-vous?" she asked. Rogue looked at her, shocked and feeling the blood drain out of her face.

"…Paris," she managed to lie, answering her teacher's question to where she was from. The teacher then started bombarding her with queries, asking if she was a foreign exchange student and such, but Rogue couldn't understand why she was able to understand the French her teacher was shooting off at her a mile a minute. She then realized everything she said to Duncan, she had rattled off in perfect French.

She reached up, grabbing her forehead. How did she know French, all of a sudden? She pushed up from her desk. The teacher stopped to look at her, asking if something was wrong.

"Pardone moi," Rogue managed to rasp as she ran out of the classroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunning's Original Author's Note:  
> Ha ha ha...if anybody is French. I am soooooooo sorry for totally butchering the language. I don't know the first thing about French, so I'm really really sorry.
> 
> But just in case, here's the French I used. And what I think they mean in my mind: Je m'appelle: My name is
> 
> Enchante: Nice to meet you/Enchanted Desole: sorry
> 
> Comprendez-vouz: Do you understand?
> 
> Votre Francais est tres magnifique: Your French is magnificent Ou habitez-vous?: Where do you live?/Where are you from?
> 
> Again, sorry.
> 
> Anyway, thank you again for the reviews and to all those who still follow-up on this ficcy despite the fact that it can't seem to answer any questions, only make new ones. Crap.
> 
> Thank you, Lucky439, for giving me another alternative explanation to ponder about: Pyro contracting rabies from Sabretooth. Ha ha ha... And probably Rogue got it too, considering she wrestled with him! Vagabond: Thanks for understanding that I like Rogue in cashmere. When she returns to Goth clothes, I might make her still wear cashmere Goth clothes. =P
> 
> ishandahalf: you crack me up. sorry about the pun. Sorry about not putting in Remy, yet again, and no mushiness (sigh)... but I had a really fun time writing in Duncan, poor guy.
> 
> Lisboa: parents gone to new york for the weekend, huh? Time to party it up, no?
> 
> Well, as promised, here's the 5th installment posted in record time! I did try to answer the question of why Rogue's feeling all giddy and distracted (I honestly did try). If you didn't catch it, it's because she's not hearing any voices in her head. Why is she not hearing any voices in her head? Well, you'll just have to read more to find out. But it might be the same reason she can spout out French all of a sudden. And aren't we waiting for a certain French-speaking heartthrob to debut anytime soon? Hopefully in a non-comatose state? Stay tuned, kids!


	6. Kitty Chat

The last bell loudly shrilled across the school, announcing the end of the day. Rooms burst open, kids spilled out into the hallway, lockers banged, laughter rang, filling the whole school with the excitement and relief of the end of a school day.

Kitty bounced down the hallway, coming out of her English class. She got her exam back today, and was surprised to find a good grade on it. She crammed for it in a mad hurry during lunch, her time outside of school being spent saving the world from psychos, humans and mutants alike. Singing a happy tune to herself, she walked towards her locker, her ponytail swishing to the rhythm of her feet. Suddenly, an arm shot out from the girl's bathroom, grabbing Kitty by the sleeve of her jacket and yanking her out of the hallway.

"What-? Like what's the big idea?" Kitty yelled, turning around, and froze when she met Rogue's glare. "Rogue! Hey! Uhhhh…. What's up?" she said, nervously. Rogue let go of Kitty, then checked all the stalls to make sure nobody was using them. She returned to Kitty, her arm going past Kitty's shoulder to lock the bathroom door.

"We need to talk." Kitty gulped audibly.

"Are-are you gonna beat me up?" Kitty asked like a scared little girl, she sounded serious.

"What?" Rogue looked at her quizzically. Then remembered why Kitty would have a reason to think so when she spied a reflection of the way she looked today. "Ah ain't gonna beat ya up, Kitty."

Kitty exhaled.

"But don't you go thinkin' you're off the hook. What ya did ta me this mornin' was not cool, ya got me?" Rogue stared down at her, a cool menace swirling behind her eyes.

Kitty bobbed her head up and down. "Sorry, Rogue. Never again. I promise," she said solemnly. Then the curious glitter came back into her eyes. "But… I gotta know. Like, how did your day go?"

Rogue snorted and rolled her eyes. "Ah ain't tellin' ya."

"What?" Kitty squeaked. She grabbed Rogue's shoulders and shook vigorously. "Why not? You gotta tell me, Rogue, you just gotta!"

"Okay, okay!" Rogue yelled, shaking off Kitty's grip on her. Denying Kitty gossip and information was equivalent to denying food to a starved animal: it was cruel. Not that it mattered, anyway, Kitty was a hawk when it came to gathering information. Even if Rogue didn't tell her now, Kitty would have eventually pieced together the events of the day and how it went down.

"If ya gotta know. Nothin' happened." Kitty blinked. "Nothing?"

"Yeah, nobody recognized me. They all thought ah was either a new student or a visitor. Which reminds me, can you turn in mah English paper? Seeing as how nobody knew Ah was Rogue, Ah   


thought it'd be safer to play the part."

"Nothing?" Kitty repeated, not even trying to hide the disappointment in her voice. "But didn't they take role?"

"Ah just didn't answer when they called mah name. Which also reminds me, Ah should get a note for being absent today." Rogue gave the dumbfounded Kitty her English paper.

"You didn't even try to hint that it was you?" Kitty looked at Rogue, crestfallen.

Rogue shook her head nonchalantly. "Ah told you Kitty, it's better it worked out this way. Ah hate people tryin' to ask questions and pokin' their noses where they don't belong." She said the last part looking pointedly at Kitty.

"Is that why you didn't like eat lunch with me and Kurt today? Cuz you were, like, afraid of people figuring out it was you?"

"Possibly. But Ah also had some reading ta catch up on, so Ah went to the library."

"Oh." Kitty frowned, her eyes looking dejectedly at the cover sheet of the paper she held loosely between her fingers.

She sure is takin' this harshly, Rogue thought. But she knew what Kitty was hoping for. That maybe Rogue would make like Cinderella, and come to school with a whole new look, causing everybody to fall in love with her and get her to ditch her anti-social ways. But if Kitty honestly believed that would happen, then she was dumber than Rogue thought. Rogue didn't associate with people because she was Gothic; she was Gothic because she didn't want to associate with people. Isolating herself was the only way, the safest way… Rogue thought of how close Duncan leaned into her today, and she hugged her arms fiercely, wishing she hadn't provoked the encounter as much as she did. She snapped back to attention, remembering why she needed to talk to Kitty, who still looked morosely at the paper.

"Look Kitty, don't go gettin' all these pretty li'l thoughts in your head that the people here are gonna stop acceptin' me with open arms just because Ah start dressin' like them." Rogue sighed.

"I know," Kitty said, then looked up at Rogue, smiling sheepishly. "And don't you go getting ideas that I want to change who you are and junk. Cuz I like totally accept you or whatever. It's just that… I guess I sometimes wish… people could see, like, what I see, you know what I mean?" she finished hopefully.

"Sure, Kitty," Rogue said, rolling her eyes, hiding the fact she was touched by the sentiment. "Anyway, you're gettin' me off topic here. Ah wanted to ask ya about last night."

"What about last night?" Kitty asked, her voice cautious and nervous at the same time.

"Mr. McCoy told me that you took me to mah room last night. But the funny thing is Ah can't recall anything that happened after the fight last night with the Acolytes. But Mr. McCoy said Ah was talkin' and walkin' and… Ah mean, shouldn't Ah remember that?" Rogue asked. She almost forgot she was asking Kitty and wondered maybe if she told her too much, she wasn't willing to bare her soul to anyone yet.

"Well… maybe you were, like, sleepwalking or something. I heard, like, junk like that happens. I mean, my Dad, he used to like talk in his sleep, and it completely like sounded as if he was totally, like, awake… and junk…" Kitty said, hopefully. She was trying to convince herself. Rogue could tell   


she was holding back.

"Kitty, ya know somethin'," Rogue stated rather than asked. Kitty hesitated.

"I took you up into the room… but you were kinda, like, talking and acting all funny," Kitty said after awhile, trying to choose her words carefully.

"What do you mean funny?" Rogue asked.

"Like, you like had no idea where our room was or which one was your bed, and like you couldn't even walk straight, like you were drunk or something. And the weirdest thing was, you were, like, talking in French or something." Kitty finished.

"What? Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

"I dunno. I kinda assumed you were just, like, tired and babbling, you know? I mean sometimes you say weird things after you absorb people. And I mean, you like absorbed, that guy Gambit or whatever, so I just kinda assumed that you just kinda had all his memories and junk on your brain. You know, like that time you kept on morphing into all those different people and could use their powers and junk, and like they were all trying to take over your mind or whatever. But you got a handle on them, didn't you, like didn't the Professor take care of that…?"

"Yeah, but that was different," Rogue said. When her psyches were trying to overtake her, it was her emotions of confusion, anger and betrayal that they were acting upon. They took control of her body, but to a certain degree, she knew what they were doing. It was like they took over the steering wheel and thrust her into the passenger's seat, but at least she was along for the ride. In the case of last night, it was like Gambit stole her car while she was sleeping, and brought it back before she woke up. She had absolutely no idea where he went or what he did with it.

"How different?" Kitty asked.

Rogue shook her head. "Ah don't know, Kitty. It's hard to explain. Ah don't really understand it mahself."

Massaging her temples, Rogue thought about this morning with the rocks. She had charged them and threw them. That was his power. She had spoken French in sixth period. That was his language. She wasn't actually sure if it was, but he was the only person she knew that used French phrases interwoven into his English, and assumed that it was a safe bet that her sudden knowledge of the language sprouted from her absorption of him. What else was strange about her today?

Everything, she thought grimly.

Then maybe her absorbing him was responsible for everything. The fact that she was completely healthy without a single injury. The way her senses were alert to pick up on the tiniest sound, the slightest color. The inability for the Professor or Jean to read her thoughts. The absence of her voices. She thought of her encounter with him at the Med Bay. She had reached out for him, and that's when the voices attacked her. When she had pulled away, they abated. Did his mutant powers also involve exercising control over superfluous psyches, as well? And now that he was inside her head, was that power hers? She couldn't even begin to reason what this would imply. She just wasn't sure what she was capable of anymore.   


Slowly, she removed one of her gloves. She walked over to the trash can, grabbing out a crumpled paper towel. She concentrated, trying to remember how she had caused the rocks to convert to over- excited bombs. But nothing happened, and the paper remained sessile and inanimate.

"Rogue, what are you doing?" Kitty asked, looking at her friend who was trying to drill a hole with her eyes into a used paper towel.

"Nothing," Rogue said, tossing the paper back into the garbage. How come she couldn't do it anymore? If she had indeed absorbed him and still had his powers, then how come she couldn't use them at her own will? She wished she knew more about the nature of his powers.

Rogue stopped, realizing that she knew absolutely nothing about Gambit. Shouldn't she know his thoughts, his history, and at least the way he controls his powers? But his psyche was missing. Heck, all of her psyches were missing. That was what was bugging her about him, what made her so nervous. He was a mystery before absorption. And he still remained a mystery even after absorption.

"C'mon, let's get goin'." Rogue said putting on her gloves, unlocking the bathroom door and walking out into the hallway. Kitty followed.

"There you are!"

The two girls turned around. Duncan walked over, grinning. Rogue groaned. Kitty looked at the approaching Duncan, and then at Rogue, perking up with interest. Rogue stood still, looking at the ceiling and mumbled a curse underneath her breath.

"You French girls like to play hard-to-get or something?" he said, trying desperately to sound charming. He hovered near her, looking down at her with a knowing smile plastered on his face. "How do you expect me to pick you up for a date, if you never told me where you live, silly thing?"

Kitty's jaw went slack, and Rogue could hear her stifle a yelp of mirth. Duncan finally noticed Kitty standing there.

"Babe, you could do better for friends. Here, let me help you make some new ones," he said, sneering at Kitty, he put an arm around Rogue.

"Hands off!" Rogue shoved him away violently.

"What the hell?" he yelled, stumbling back and falling on the floor. Then his expression soured. "Hey… what happened to your French accent?"

Rogue huffed, grabbing Kitty by the hand and turned to march out of the school, leaving a stunned Duncan on the floor.

"What was that all about?" Kitty screeched. "Oh! I knew something had to have happened! Did Duncan, like, ask you out of a date? Oh my gosh, freak out! What would Jean think? Are you gonna go? Of course, you're not gonna go. But how did it happen? Tell me! Tell mee!"

Rogue continued to walk, with a very anxious and excited Kitty dangling off of her arm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunning's Original Author's Note:  
> Hi yall~! Nothing really special happened in this installment. I'm an action junkie myself, I like things exploding and flying and kicking...KzAAA and Zowie~! All that noise! So I'm exercising a lot of patience by keeping everything low key.
> 
> So, sorry about the boring chapter, but let us review. What have we learned here kids? (Sorry if this is insulting anybody, but I have to read all my chapters once, before I even start the next one, cuz I'm afraid of contradicting myself.)  
> Rogue sucked up Remy whose lying in a coma. She wakes up, all giddy and happy. Then she finds out that she could use Remy's powers. But now she realizes the powers aren't kicking in when she wants it to. She can speak French fluently when she's in beginners' French. So she has access to Gambit's knowledge without consciously dipping from it. Yet she can't see any of his memories, his thoughts, etc. And what's this about Gambit taking control of her body when she's knocked out? So that's the case. More questions. Exactly where I left you last time. But don't worry, Remy will be making an entrance any time soon. And he will answer all of Rogue's questions, and ones that she didn't even know she had! Ahhh~~ Remy... sexy and smart. =)  
> And now the role call (I need a beat):  
> Ishandahalf: So you hate Jean, huh? Lot of people do. I find that interesting, cuz I never really liked or hated Jean, she was one of those neutral characters for me. But she definitely isn't Rogue, yunno? I dunno why, but I always liked Rogue. In the comics, in the Fox cartoon and in the EVO one too. Anyway, no mush. I'm just a big ol' let down, aren't I? But hey, my updating skills are top notch! But just as a forewarning, the weekend is over and it's back to the dregs... so it might slow down. But just a little. I promise.  
> Pyro Personality #59: Nice name, by the way. Remy's coming soon and so is Magneto, gulp. I'm okay with Remy, cuz I'm comfortable writing him. But I'm not too sure about Magneto. He might just end with a mention... no big roles or none. I hate Sabretooth too, but we need characters like him, they're really good for beating the crap out of. And I definitely promise more of that!  
> Lisboa: I'm not sure about Jean as the Devil. But I would totally be honored if you wanted to host my story on your website. I have some fan art too, that I'd loved to share, if you want it, that is.  
> RogueandKurt: Thanks for the LINK! You're my savior, but I think I'll try to steer away from French if I can.  
> Oh and by the way, I noticed everybody saying that my French wasn't bad. So what the heck? Does everyone reading Remy/Rogue romances know French or something? I have people whose offering me cliff notes, to translators, to people who has taken to studying the language for (holy cow) eleven years. Audience... too learned... kinda freaking me out.  
> Anyway, I'll try hard not to disappoint.


	7. Touch

"Holy cow… how long has she been at this?" Bobby breathed, his eyes wide in awe. Scott checked the stopwatch. "Sixty three minutes," he said, his voice low and grim. "Sixty three? Crap, shouldn't we stop her?" Bobby looked at Scott in desperation.

"Maybe that's a good idea, Scott," Jean joined, unable to tear her eyes from the spectacle in front of her. "This…just can't be healthy."

The X-men were crowded around the observation booth of the Danger Room. Set two stories higher than the actual Danger Room, it held all the simulation controls and a large panoramic view of the action going on below. What they saw today was probably the most spectacular display of physical prowess the likes of what the Danger Room has ever seen. It was fast, pure, breathtaking. Violence so riveting it was beautiful. It was Rogue.

The agenda of the day was working on defense. Each X-man would go in alone and the object of the game was to evade and defend against the attacks made by the simulators. The computer started with low-level attacks and then slowly graduated to higher levels as time progressed. The moment one got hit, the simulation would halt to a stop and record the time endured and level reached.

Kitty had gone first. With her powers, however, all she mustered to do was buff her nails on the front of her uniform, as the attacks simply phased through her. Once, she was restricted to use this power, she had lasted all but four minutes at Level 1. Bobby was next in line. Transforming into ice, he glided around his attackers easily at first. But even he lost composure as the attacks sped up and became more aggressive.

Rogue was third in line. Although Scott had decided to excuse Rogue from practice today, considering the ordeal last night, Rogue assured him she wasn't feeling a bit tired. Normally, Rogue didn't enjoy the Danger Room sessions, the drills being on the tedious side, especially if it was Scott planning the exercises instead of Logan, who by the way, was missing since last night's fight with Sabretooth. But after a whole day of agonizing over questions without answers, Rogue felt like the exercise would do her some good.

At first, she performed just as she always had, dodging and parrying the attacks naturally. Ten minutes later, she entered Level 3, and the landscape of the Danger Room changed into an arena with tall pillars, obstructing her view of enemies and limiting her paths of escape. Flying projectiles started whizzing by her, and for an instant she seemed to falter, unsure of how to dodge so many at a time. Suddenly, one came ripping through the air towards Rogue's back. In a hairbreadth of a second, without even turning to look, she jumped up, somersaulting once backwards in the air and landing neatly on the ground, safely behind the attack that had crashed into the spot on the floor, where she had been standing only milliseconds before. The small group from above cheered her enthusiastically then, but Rogue couldn't hear any of it.

All she heard was the beating of her heart and the rhythm of her breath. All she felt was the blood coursing threw her veins and the charged air around her. All she saw was the flaws in her assailant's attacks and the next course of action. The time just hummed along, her movements calm and meticulous. Even when the attacks became quick and rushed, she dealt with them at a regular pace.

A metal claw swung at her. Rogue bent backwards just as it came slicing through the air, and kicked up   


both her feet as she felt another projectile flying low for her legs. The projectile hit the claw instead, both of them exploding and disappearing into the simulation. The moment she landed on her feet, she swooped low to the floor, her chest flat on the cement, allowing another barrage of attacks pass by her. Then just at the right time, she rolled to the left, dodging another. To the right. From the back. On her knees, on her toes, in the air and off the walls. Rogue didn't waste a single movement. Her defense, the dodges and parries, became a weapon of sorts as she sent her opponents crashing into her obstacles. She fought as if in a trance, enjoying the strength in her legs, the oxygen pumping through her lungs, the sweat trickling down the length of her body. With every calculated movement, her hair whipped around, soaked in sweat and slapping noisily against her face. In no time, too much time had passed, the levels of the Danger Room getting dangerously high.

"Scott, the time?" Ororo's voice came, curious and worried.

"Seventy two minutes," Scott said. The Professor and Ororo had arrived home a few minutes ago and came to the Danger Room to confirm what Jean had told him over their telepathic link. Even the Professor was shocked to find Rogue, gracefully dancing around everything and anything the Room threw at her. But what was more shocking was she didn't seem to tire.

Everybody seemed to be holding their breaths. The atmosphere was tense with both concern and excitement. What Rogue was doing seemed almost magical, if not staged. She had come this far, without attacking back, without a weapon and without the added advantage of absorbing anything. The simulator beeped twice, announcing that it would be taking it up another level.

"It's Level 10," Scott said, perplexed. "Professor, I don't think even Logan took the Room to Level 10, not the defense simulation."

"Go Rogue," Kurt cheered in an amazed stupor. "This isn't normal," Kitty said quietly to herself.

"It's as if she's possessed or something," Ray said, squeezed between Kitty and Kurt, straining to see Rogue's edge-of-the-seat performance.

"Man, next time we have a problem with Magneto or the Brotherhood or the frickin' army, we should just sic Rogue on 'em!" Sam declared in exasperation.

Level 10 kicked in, warping the Room yet again. The ground rose, and the air became thick with flying enemies. They looked like mechanical ravens swarming and swooping over one figure. The surrounding pillars and walls closed in and started protruding out razor-sharp spikes. From the observation booth, Rogue was no longer visible. Everybody moved to watch the simulation monitors which tracked her body heat.

"Oh God, Rogue," Kitty pleaded quietly. "Just get hurt. Then it'll be over."

But the simulation didn't stop. Rogue was still managing to defend herself. They looked at the dark, swarming shadows all angled in attacking one target. She was evading all of them.

"Shut the system off." The Professor's voice came suddenly. He, like everybody else, became uneasy when he could not see her anymore. Scott's fingers shot out quickly, flicking a button that would abort the program. The computers whirred. The simulations stopped then faded. The lights in the Danger Room came on, and everybody rushed to the window again. They caught Rogue diving across the floor,   


hitting it with both her hands and cartwheel to a stop. "Rogue?"

The Scott's voice came booming over the speakerphones. Rogue shook her head sharply. She looked up at the booth, the floodlights in the room causing her to squint and bring up a hand to shade her eyes.

"Yeah?" Her voice shook, her chest heaving. "You can stop now, Rogue," Scott said. "Okay," she said meekly.

Kurt teleported down into the room, and Kitty phased through. Everybody else took to the stairs. The Professor remained. His eyes thoughtfully staring at the Level 10, one hour and 16 minutes recorded on the monitor.

Rogue looked up at the ceiling. That exhaustion she wanted to feel so badly the whole day, was finally seeping into her. But she couldn't sleep, as much as she wanted to. She was too close to him. She looked to the side, through the glass door of her own room into the glass door of his. She could make out the foot of his bed and his feet that almost dangled from it. Just where it had been this morning.

Of course, it's still there. He's in a coma, after all, Rogue thought to herself.

She looked back up at the ceiling. She was in the Med Bay. Apparently, she had been in the Danger Room session for well over an hour. Which would explain the physical exhaustion. Kitty had put a towel around her, finding Rogue soaked through with perspiration, and told her to hit the showers. Except when Rogue took a step towards the exit, her legs gave out from underneath her and she fell prostrate on the floor. She had not lost consciousness, but her body was just too tired to respond. She let Mr. McCoy carry her back to the Med Bay, where she was ordered to stay overnight.

The lights were off, except for a faint blue one that came from the hallway separating the two rooms, the light easily penetrating the glass doors. Rogue sighed. The memory of the session came back to her in a blur, but that was normally the case whenever adrenaline was running through her. She thought she heard one of the kids, Sam or maybe Ray, mention something about her reaching Level 10. The highest she ever reached was Level 5, and that was pretty high. Rogue usually kept track of the time elapsed and the beeping that would indicate the next level, but she didn't hear any of that. She was too wrapped up in hearing the wind whip around her as she jumped and dived, and the thumping of her own heart as she controlled her breathing, not by comfort but by ear. The noises were overwhelming. She never noticed them before. Life without the voices would take some getting used to.

But of course, she could not attribute all her record-breaking achievements as a solo act. She looked to her right again, his white bed sheets radiating dull blue from the hallway light. Rogue braced the mattress and pulled herself up to a sitting position. Her body throbbed in response to the action.

Ah am so going ta feel this tomorrow, Rogue berated herself. Grimacing, she pulled herself out of the bed. She was in her pajamas, her comfortable navy blue flannels; Kitty had brought it, along with other things. Rogue smiled, thinking about how hard Kitty laughed when she told her story about how Duncan mistook her with a foreign exchange student. Rogue decided to omit the part with her mastery of French for the time being. Slipping on her bedroom slippers, she slowly ambled towards the faint, blue light. A pair of swishing doors gave her entry.   


Her eyes fell on him, his handsome features hidden in the darkness. Nausea threatened to come, but quickly disappeared. Rogue wondered why that happened. She had felt sick this morning, too. Except that wasn't the only thing that had gone wrong with their earlier rendezvous. Rogue stumbled slightly to his side, her eyes focusing on his arm, his wrist, his fingers, cupped over a wide, empty palm. Rogue smiled. He really had nice hands: they looked strong, dexterous and… gentle. On an impulse, she reached for it and then braced herself for the barrage of voices to return.

But no voices came. Instead she found herself overwhelmed with another sensation. The feel of his skin. On hers.

She looked down to find her small, pale hand in his large, tan one. She pressed her fingers against his palm, testing the firmness of his flesh. She caressed his upper hand with her thumb, her slim fingers slipping in and out of his hand. Finally, she looked up, her eyes traveling around to where his head would be, reclined against the pillow. She couldn't make out any features in the darkness. All she saw was the monitors that hovered above his bed, one emitting faint, bleeping noises. This monitor mapped his heartbeat. Rogue had once asked Mr. McCoy what the waves on the monitors meant out of sheer boredom. The heart had its own pacemaker, separate from the brain, which created its own action potentials, allowing the heart to continue beating its regular pattern of systole and diastole. Rogue looked at the monitor next to that. This one emitted no sounds. It was a flat line.

What did that monitor mean, again? Oh yeah, brain activity.

Something tugged at Rogue, a horrible sadness that she did not want to voice. She looked at the flat line. Then to the face shrouded in darkness. Finally to her hand still pressed against his.

This is how it's gonna be foh the rest of mah life. The only ones Ah'll ever touch without harming… will be no better than dead, Rogue thought with disgust. She tasted the terrible bitterness of that fate. She hated it. She hated herself. Yet here she was, still holding onto the hand of a mere shell, feeling comfort and pleasure from the simple warmth he generated. She didn't want to let go.

Her thumb lightly kneaded the muscle between his thumb and his index. A drop of liquid fell down, and she felt wetness trickle down her hands onto his. Another drop. Another trickle.

Tears tumbled down Rogue's cheeks, her body racked with quiet sobs. But she didn't move to wipe her tears. She let them fall. She didn't care. Because even with her mind confused, body exhausted, and spirit shattered, she still felt his strong, warm hand enveloped around hers. And for reasons unbeknownst to her, it made her soul feel glad.

Rogue finally reached the bed in her own room in the Med Bay, unable to stay awake any longer. She closed her eyes, puffy from crying, and felt inky sleep try to take her away.

Suddenly, her eyes shot back open. Something felt different in the room. She sat up and brushing her hair away from her face, she looked towards the door and froze.

Leaning next to the door was a tall man in a long, trenchcoat, smoking a cigarette. Before Rogue could say or think, he took out the cigarette from his mouth, blew out the smoke and walked over to Rogue.

"Bonjour," he said, husky and soft, his eyes dimly glowing red.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunning's Original Author's Note:  
> Lisboa: You're website is very lovely! Very sophisticated and urban.  
> ishandahalf: I'm not even sure if this one can be considered mush. But hey, it's something right? Kanshisha: Thanks for the magneto pointers.  
> Leigh: I hope you didn't wait too long, dear.  
> Lady MR: I'm not sure about mystique. She's just as scary as Magneto to me. But maybe in the sequel.  
> =)  
> Okay, I need to sleep if I'm going to school tomorrow.


	8. Dream

Rogue screamed. Possibly because the Med Bay now had a French-speaking poltergeist, or maybe she thought she could wake-up somebody to help her. But with her eyes clenched shut, she screamed and screamed… until the French poltergeist flew to her side, clamped her mouth over with one hand and brought the index of his other hand to his lips, gesturing her to quiet down.

"Shh…" his lips formed.

Rogue stopped screaming, but her breathing was still rampant. Her eyes were wide with wild alarm, her pupils dilated to try to recognize the figure whose hand still covered her mouth. His eyes were glowing less, but she could still see them radiate a soft red. Willing herself to concentrate harder, she scrutinized him more calmly. But the panic behind her eyes and in her throat did not subside as she confirmed that it indeed was Gambit, the man who was supposed to be comatose in the next room. Swallowing down any more screams, she controlled her breaths to come more regularly, but her eyes still remained large and unblinking. He looked back just as steadily. They stared at each other, both sitting on Rogue's bed in the semi-darkness. He slowly removed his hand from over her mouth.

She looked down at his hand and realized he had no gloves on.

A faint noise of alarm escaped her lips. Her body trembled, unable to understand why he was able to touch her and still sit in front of her. She looked at him and back at his hand, looking at it as if it was some kind of remarkable treasure. Then back at him, her eyes questioning him desperately. She opened her mouth to ask him to explain why he was awake and able to touch her, but her throat was parched, drying up her voice. She wished she had some water.

Then, she looked down at her hand, to find a glass of water. She stared at it. Her eyebrows pinched in consternation. What the heck? Did this glass just materialize out of nowhere?

"Ah'm so confused," she declared miserably, falling back hard onto her bed, water and all. She felt the water spill, but nothing was wet. She groaned into her pillow, but was suddenly startled to hear a low chuckling resonating from her visitor.

"What's so damned funny?" Rogue asked, frustration in her voice as an angry eye peeped up from the pillow.

"You." He finished off his chuckle with a brilliant smile, his deep-set eyes, like bright red stars, glittered over a perfect row of teeth set in a strong jaw. Rogue frowned. In answer, his smile melted away, and looking up, he let out a sigh, his palm pressed up to his brow and his fingers combing through his long bangs thoughtfully. Rogue's frown deepened. After closing his eyes for a few quiet breaths, he opened them to look at her askance. Rogue glared at him. He was disgustingly gorgeous.

"T'ink it's maybe a good time for us to introduce ourselves, non?" he asked, smiling lopsidedly. Then he fully faced Rogue, flashing her another confident grin as he tipped his head towards her in a modest bow. "De name's Remy LeBeau."

Rogue blinked. "Who?"

"Remy. But den, you probably know me as Gambit, d'accord?" He jerked his thumb at the opposite room, where he should have been lying dead in a coma. Rogue looked at where he indicated. The bed was empty. She blankly stared at it. How was it possible to just get up and out of a coma, and stand   


around smoking only minutes later? And where did he get that trench coat? And wasn't his shirt reduced to rags from the night before? Absolutely nothing made sense.

"You must be Rogue," he said, when she neglected to introduce herself. Rogue nodded warily, eyeing him without a word. She was honestly, beginning to get afraid. Gambit's, or Remy's as he seemed to prefer, rather lighthearted demeanor to the insanity around her was terribly disturbing.

"Nice t'meet you, Rogue." Remy smiled politely, holding out his hand in front of her as if he expected her to shake it. Rogue looked numbly at the hand, remembering what it felt like around hers, only moments before. Rogue found herself studying it again, tracing the long, slender fingers, her thick eyelashes hiding the wistfulness in her eyes. She saw the hand move closer. It hovered over her own hands which she kept shyly folded over her lap. His graceful fingers stretched to pluck one off her lap. Her fingers twitched in response to his touch. He gently held her hand, and Rogue's eyes watched the two joined hands lift up. Remy slowly brought Rogue's hand up to his chin. He caressed the fair skin over her knuckles with his lips, his eyes taking in the flutter of her lashes as she felt the kiss.

Rogue leaned in closer to make sure that she had no gloves on. She looked up at Remy, his eyes dancing with amusement.

"How the heck are ya doin' this? Why are ya not dyin'?" she uttered, her voice in completely innocent and unaffected awe. Remy raised an eyebrow.

"Not de exact reaction I was going for, but I suppose it'll do in a pinch," he said, winking at her. It was Rogue's turn to raise an eyebrow. Suddenly, she snatched her hand from him.

"Enough of this bull. Ah want straight answers! How are ya out of your coma? And how come you can touch me?" Rogue demanded, her eyes flashing.

"Who said I'm out of de coma? And who said we actually touching?" was his cryptic answer.

"What?" Rogue sighed in exasperation. "Stop beatin' around the damn bush! If Ah don't get any answers soon, my head's gonna explode!"

"Which head?" Remy asked. "Dis one?" And pointed at Rogue's head. "Or de real one?"

"Just shut up! If Ah don't get answers from you, Ah can find it elsewhere!" Rogue yanked off her covers and hopped down from her bed, heading out the room in quest to find Mr. McCoy.

"He's not dere, Rogue."

Rogue spun around to see Remy still sitting on her bed, looking at her.

"What do ya mean? How do ya know?" she snapped, her voice making it clear she wanted a good answer this time.

"Nobody be out dere, because none of dis be for real. You dreaming, chere." Rogue squinted at him. "What?"

He sat quietly, offering her nothing more.

"Ah can't be dreamin'. This…this doesn't feel like a dream. You… don't feel like a dream." But then   


Rogue thought about the glass of water, that had appeared when she wanted it, and disappeared into thin air as if it never existed. As if it was a dream. She covered her face with her hands. They felt cool against her cheeks. She removed her hands and looked at them. She shook her head. "No, this can't be just an ordinary dream. It feels too real."

"When you sleep, you dream. And you asleep right now," Remy said plaintively. "But you right when you say it ain't ordinary."

Rogue stood stock still, digesting the information. A thought came to her that chilled her bones. "How- how much?"

"Scuse me?"

"How much of it, is a dream then? Ah mean, how far does it go back? Since a minute ago? Since this mornin'? Since last night?" Rogue's eyes searched the ground, and her hand clenched at a fistful of hair by the roots. "Oh Gawd, nothin' makes sense anymore. Ah must be goin' crazy!" she cried.

Rogue stopped, looking at Remy with terror-stricken eyes. "Ah am goin' crazy, aren't Ah?" she whispered, barely audible even to her. She had completely lost all sense of reason. She couldn't even distinguish a dream from reality. She still couldn't. Both of her hands were tearing at her hair now, she curled her head down, shaking side to side, trying desperately to push out the cold fear that gripped her chest.

"Chere, calm down." She felt two strong hands grip her by the arms, she could feel the heat through the thin flannel. She looked up at him, his eyes masking concern. He leaned into her and his eyes flashed, making it impossible for her to look elsewhere.

"You not going crazy, Rogue," he said with utter clarity. "We both be in big trouble if dat's true, neh? Den again, we already in knee-deep."

"No more, Remy," she said, unable to keep the desperation and weakness out of her voice. His expression softened immediately at the mention of his name. "No more laughin' at my expense. Ah can understand why ya might be mad at me for puttin' you in a coma and all, but just… help me. Ah know ah don't deserve it, but just… just answer these questions… nothin' makes sense…" she finished dejectedly. Despite what Remy said, Rogue was now convinced she was losing it, asking such a confident guy for help in such a pathetic way. She groaned, hating the situation more, if that was even possible.

Remy paused. Looking down at her, a sense of shame crept up at him. He removed his hands from her shoulders and sighed inwardly. Rogue hugged her arms, avoiding his eyes. His eyes fell to his feet, unruly bangs falling over his eyes.

"M'sorry."

Rogue looked up at him, a little surprised by the apology. Suddenly, she felt like kicking herself. What right did she have for making him feel bad? She put the poor guy in a coma, for goodness sake.

"Ah'm sorry, too," she found herself saying guiltily.

There was a long, awkward silence between the two, one staring at the floor, the other looking to the side. Finally, Remy gave a short laugh, catching Rogue's attention.   


"Look at us. We like li'l kids being forced to apologize t'each other."

This drew a smile from Rogue, despite everything. "Yeah," she agreed, contemplating how ridiculous everything seemed all of a sudden. She directed the smile at the floor, her head shaking lightly side to side, causing amber strands to tumble over white.

"You real cute when you smile, Chere." Rogue looked up to find him studying her. Her smile quickly disappeared. She looked at him guardedly.

He raised both of his hands in surrender. "Hey now, didn' mean not'ing fishy by it. Just tellin' you dat it suits you. You should do it more often." She looked away from him. "You mad, Chere?" he asked, trying to stay in her line of vision.

"…No," she said after hesitation, deciding it was probably just his way to keep things from getting too serious and stressed.

"Good." He suddenly hooked a finger under her chin and swooped in low, close enough to almost bump noses. "Y'wanna kiss and make-up?"

Rogue turned scarlet. From the question or the closeness or the husky charm or the stupid audacity, she wasn't sure. Instinctively, she slapped his hand away and jumped back, favoring him with a glare. He laughed good-naturedly.

"Mon Dieu, Chere, y'even cuter when you blush," he tossed.

She should have just kissed him. That would have shut him up. Rogue fervently wished she could pull off something like that.

"Ah thought we were going ta talk," Rogue said icily.

"Fine by me. But you probably gon' want to sit down f'this."

Rogue nodded, and complied to sit on the edge of her bed. She looked at him, waiting impatiently for his explanation.

"So, here's what I understand so far. Dis be a dream, but usually dreams just be random t'oughts in y'head. But in y'case, dere's no random t'oughts because y'mind is presently a li'l occupied wit me."

Rogue frowned. "Ah don't get it."

"Dis," he said gesturing to the room, "is your mind's world. And me? I've taken up foreign residence in it."

"So what you're saying is that I'm in my mind, right now? Like a telepath?"

"Somet'ing like dat, but you in your own mind, not nobody else's. Everybody visits deir mind, especially when dey be sleeping, dreams are worlds y'create inside y'head, d'accord?"

"So this is all a dream. Are you a dream?" "Non. I'm de real t'ing."   


"What? How is that possible…?" Rogue lost her will to ask halfway through the question, the answer dawning on her, painfully.

"You absorbed me. Completely." His voice rang in her ears.

Rogue didn't dare look up at him. How could she? If what he was saying was true, then that meant he was stuck inside her head. She was keeping him prisoner in her mind. He wasn't a psyche, he wasn't a ghost or a shadow. He was the real Remy "Gambit" LeBeau, she had sucked up the whole being. Rogue thought of the flatline she saw on the screen monitoring his brain activity, and how she was able to touch him when he was lying in a coma. Her powers weren't absorbing anything, because there was nothing left to take. She had already taken it all. She clenched her jaw tightly, forcing herself to find her voice.

"So…when did Ah fall asleep?"

"After ya visited me, next door. De second time," he clarified.

Rogue nodded, she had already figured that. Remy's body was actually lying in the same bed in the real world. While his mind was in her head, having a conversation with her. How is he so composed, she wondered. But Rogue remembered her bouts of nausea, every time she had looked at his body. Was that him? Wouldn't she feel sick if she saw her body lying in a coma from the eyes of another? Sickness wouldn't be the beginning of it. She finally gained the courage to look up at Remy. She must have looked really anguished, because he walked over to her and sat next to her. He didn't say anything, just looked at his hands. Why was he so calm?

"I told you y'probably gon' need to sit down f'this. I was right, non?" he asked, offering her a smile. Rogue couldn't stomach it anymore. She pushed off the bed and whirled around to face him.

"Why are ya so damn calm about this? Don't ya realize what you're sayin'? You're stuck in mah head! You've been completely separated from your body! And you're all laughin' it up with the person who put ya into this hell! How can ya stand ta even look at me?"

"Chere-," he started. But she didn't let him finish.

"Don't 'chere' me. Don't be nice. Yell, scream, curse at me! Just don't be nice! If it's pity, Ah don't want it!" she screamed.

Rogue looked at him, out of breath, her vision blurring with hot tears. She blinked them back. They looked at each other in silence. She couldn't read the expression on his face. It wasn't pity. It wasn't anger. It felt like … understanding. What was he? Some kind of angel?

She closed her eyes, taking a step back until her back met the wall. She slid down into a sitting position, her knees drawn up protectively in front of her. She cradled her head between her hands, biting her lip and fighting back the tears.

She felt his hand on her shoulder. Looking up in exhaustion, she found him squatting in front of her, his long arm stretched forward to lay a consoling hand upon her.

She sighed in angry resignation.

"Why don't you hate me, Remy?" she asked, her voice quiet and lost. A tear escaped finally, rolling   


down her cheek.

"T'ought about it, Chere. Long and hard." He removed his hand from her shoulder. "But y'know dat saying? How y'don't know a person until you can take a walk around in deir shoes?"

He paused to brush the tear from her face, and tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "And seeing as how I'm beyond de shoes…." He smiled. "Just can't find de heart t'hate you."

Rogue frowned. Oh Gawd, that was the sweetest thing anybody could have possibly said to her. She looked at him in a stupor, the tears in her eyes causing the green of her irises to appear dancing. She would probably regret it later, but she had to ask him, the question was pounding over and over in her head.

"Are you an angel?"

Remy laughed suddenly. He looked at her incredulously, and realizing she was sincerely waiting for an answer, he stuffed down his laughter. He cleared his throat, still shaking his head by the absurdity of the question.

"Mon Cherie, Remy be whatever you want him to be." He flashed her a devilish smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunning's Original Author's Note:  
> This chapter is for all my readers who came in expecting a Remy/Rogue romance. And I guiltily strung them along for seven grueling chapters loaded with "cliffies." There it was folks. Mush in all its glory. How did I do, Ishandahalf? I hope dragging it on as much as I did, didn't make you have higher expectations. =P  
> The answers keep coming after this folks. So stick with me. Thank you to all who still have, and kept me motivated with all your reviews. To Lady Aurra: Sorry, it is a dream... but I hope it's not too cruel. Because Rogue's dream world is going to be heckuva lot cooler than the real world.  
> Neurotic Temptress: Your initial thought of thinking Gambit was an apparition, made me write Rogue's first reaction to think he was a Poltergeist. Thanks for the idea. =)  
> Trunks-Girl: Keep that rubber chicken away from me.  
> Kanshisha san: sorry about the confusion. i tried to write this as fast as I could, so i wouldn't keep you too long in suspense. Lest you think about the plot line too much and find all the plot holes. =)  
> the golden charmer: Sorry about the gushy stuff, but the people were gonna beat me if I didn't put it in. I promise more action sequences. I love action sequences. Not that I don't like romance. The sappy stuff is engrossingly wonderful. But I myself would never read a romance novel. I'd rather read an action novel that have 3 chapters of romance in it. That way, those parts where the characters empty out their emotions amidst all the gritty, physical violence, makes those moments all the more beautiful and cherished. If it's nothing but romance, it's easy to take it for granted. =) Yeah, that's it.  
> But don't worry, everbody sans the golden charmer, there's plenty of Remy/Rogue moments coming up.  
> Dark Void: I'm so honored that my story is worth repeated reading! I don't care if it was an after effect from a sugar high.
> 
> starlightz6: It made you want to cry? Really? I find that unbelievably encouraging! Thank you!  
> Okay, sorry, if I forgot to get back to anyone. But I'll try to post another chapter up over the weekend. But I have a midterm and paper due on Tuesday. So I might not get to it. Heck, at least this chapter ended on a happy note, right?  
> In the next episode: Gambit answers what happened to the voices in Rogue's head.  
> And what happened to Pyro? Sabretooth? Logan? I promise it'll all get explained. But I won't promise that it'll all be in the next chapter.


	9. Fear

"How's it taste?" Remy asked, looking at Rogue who was comfortably settled in a bean-bag chair, sucking on an orange-creamcicle.

"It's pretty darn good," she said thoughtfully licking her lips. "How about you?"

"Dunno, chere. Dis is by far the strangest tasting beer I've ever had in my life." He eyed the mug in his hand dubiously.

Rogue smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Ah'm not much of a beer-drinker. Not really sure what's supposed to be good beer when they all taste horrible."

"Ahh, to be young again," Remy whined musically, looking up at the ceiling wistfully.

"Oh hush," Rogue pelted a large beach ball at him, which he caught easily in the air. "Ah bet you're not even old enough to buy alcohol. You should be happy that Ah'm hookin' ya up."

"Not sure if dis be even alcoholic, tastes a lot like apple juice if y'ask me."

They sat in the middle of Rogue's room in the Med Bay. Or what began as the Med Bay, which was slowly being transformed into a circus. They were reclined on large, round bean-bag chairs, Remy on a blue one and Rogue on a yellow one. There were balloons floating around the room, a red Ferrari parked in the hallway, a record player playing Frank Sinatra, and a great panda bear munching away at bamboo in the corner of the room. Rogue had figured out that she could control and manipulate everything in this world, everything but Remy. And naturally, Remy coaxed her into practicing. It started out by simply placing things in the room, like chairs and balloons. Then it was placing larger objects like the Ferrari. Next, they tried to imagine a human, but this proved to be a difficult considering the human had to act and move around with free will. And Rogue's version of Kurt was uncharacteristically quiet and mechanical. So she settled with a panda bear instead. Finally, they tried things that involved hearing and taste. All Rogue had to do was imagine it, and it was there. It was actually quite exciting.

"How old are ya, exactly?" Rogue asked suddenly.

"Oh, I don' know… possibly 19?" Remy replied, grimacing after he took another sip of the beer. "Possibly?"

"Don' really keep track of dem t'ings. You just one year closer t'death, anyway," he answered nonchalantly.

Rogue frowned. She wished he wouldn't say things like that. It made him sound depressed. And Rogue could think of only one reason why he would be. The fact that he was trapped in her mind, and had nowhere to go. She shifted uncomfortably in the bean-bag chair.

"How 'bout you, p'tite? Twelve? T'irteen?" he asked with an evil grin.

"Please tell me Ah just heard that wrong," Rogue threatened, mock malice thick in her voice, she summoned a baseball bat into her hand as the Popsicle disappeared.   


"Uhh… I'm t'inking dat y'probably ain't in de mood f'playin' ball," Remy laughed nervously.

A saccharine sweet smile spread upon Rogue's face, her eyes sparkling dangerously. Remy took the smart way out, and quickly apologized for the bad joke. Much to his relief, the bat disappeared.

"Ah'm sixteen," Rogue said stiffly.

Remy raised an eyebrow. "Really? S'funny, I figured y'might've been older." Rogue waited for another joke, but when it didn't come, she shook her head.

"Sometimes, Ah feel a lot older myself. Have a lot of memories and such that's before my time…" Rogue's voice trailed off, thinking about all the different psyches she had absorbed. Their life experiences almost felt like hers.

"From dose ghosts, y'mean?"

Rogue snapped out of her reverie. "What?"

"Dose t'ings that float around in y'head, like dey restless spirits or somet'ing. Are dey all de people dat y'absorbed?" Remy's voice got quiet.

Rogue nodded slowly, unable to speak. It hurt to confess to that. She was a little afraid of what Remy might be thinking about her. Although he said that he forgave her for inadvertently sucking him in, she couldn't help but think that a little part of him bitterly blamed her. She was afraid that deep down inside, he might actually spite her. She was even more afraid that she cared. She cared a lot.

"Mus' be rough," he said after awhile. Rogue looked up cautiously. "What is?"

"Having dem constantly floating around and tormenting you like dat." Rogue's mouth fell open. "How do you know-?"

The thought that he was an angel came back to her again. But this time she didn't ask, it took him awhile to stop teasing her about it the first time she did.

"Y'remember de time when y'saw me on de bed? And den, when y'reached f'me…" "…They attacked me all at once," Rogue finished. "Were you there when it happened?"

Remy nodded thoughtfully. "Dey just came out of nowhere… scared de piss out o'me. Was all shouting and raging, too. D'funny t'ing is… I t'ink dey afraid o'me."

"What?" Rogue looked at him, puzzled.

"Not sure why, but when dey attacked you, dey just whizzing by me screaming like banshees. Kinda t'rew me off guard, but den I heard y'voice asking f'help."

"Ya heard me ask for help?"

"Oui, and I'm not de one to desert a damsel in distress," Remy added playfully smiling at Rogue.   


"So, what? Are ya tellin' me ya fought them off one by one?" Rogue asked skeptically. "Non, I told dem to shut up," Remy replied matter-of-factly. "And dey did."

"That's it? Ya just told them to be quiet? And they went away? How come they listen to you, but they don't listen to me?" Rogue asked incredulously.

"Mais, I get de impression dey don't really like you, chere."

"That's the understatement of the century," Rogue scoffed humorlessly.

"At least s'only once every now and den dat dey visit, non? S'not like dey screaming at you de whole time."

Rogue looked at him, shaking her head, her eyes round and clear, making her look like a scared child. Remy frowned at her in concern. "What is it, Rogue?"

"They ARE always there, Remy. They yell at me all the time." Biting her lip, she hugged her arms tightly and sank into her bean-bag a little deeper. "Ah haven't heard them though recently… ever since Ah absorbed ya, Ah thought they were gone for good until they attacked me out of the blue in the Med Bay. But then, they were just gone, right afterwards. Ah thought maybe it was their last stand before completely disappearing. Ah guess Ah was wrong."

"Y'mean, dere's no way to block dem out? Y'have to live life wit dem always screamin' at you in de ear?"

"That's usually how it is, but today was different. Ah woke up and Ah didn't hear a thing. It kinda left me a little out of it the whole day," Rogue admitted, she felt self-pity drill into her as Remy pointed out all the obstacles in her life. She felt some comfort, however, knowing that there was finally somebody who could completely empathize with her.

"The Professor has been helpin' me to quiet them down a little, so they won't attack me as much. When he's in my mind, they go silent, and Ah feel a momentary peace, but it never lasts. Once he's out, they return. They always return." Rogue finished grimly.

"Why do y't'ink dey hate y'so much?" Remy leaned forward from his chair, his elbows balanced on his knees.

"Do you have to even ask? They're obviously mad at me for keepin' them in my mind against their will," Rogue looked down at the mug Remy was playing with between his hands. "Ah guess they're just not as forgivin' as you." Another stab of guilt forced her to squirm.

Remy took no notice of her last remark. "How can y'stand it?" he asked, thinking about how mercilessly they attacked Rogue that one morning. If that was the norm, how was she able to function?

"They're not always that bad. They usually don't attack all at once. But recently, well, they… tried to take over my body. In a way, Ah guess Ah kinda let them. Ah went through some stuff that made me kinda wish Ah could just give up, ya know?" Rogue swallowed, trying hard not to resurface too many emotions regarding the incident with Risty and Mystique. "But the Professor helped me try to erase them. It didn't work, but at least Ah recovered."   


"Dey took over y'body?" A look of nervousness passed over his eyes, but it quickly faded. Rogue nodded. "You tried once, too, didn't you?"

There was nothing accusing in her voice. Although she just met him, Rogue trusted Remy, wanted to trust him. He would probably be the only one who could ever understand her. She didn't want to hurt him anymore than she already had. So she opened up to him, admitted things that she thought she would take to her grave, and it felt therapeutically good. More so than with the Professor. In a way, since Remy was a part of her, it was like telling a secret but keeping it at the same time. With the Professor, she always tried to keep things bottled up.

"Didn' mean to do it on purpose," Remy mumbled. "Kinda woke up in y'body. Got up n' m'voice sounded all funny n' I had breasts. Really, chere, it was a nightmare of de worst kind."

Rogue laughed. So Remy didn't realize he was taking control of the body until he was actually doing it. "Ah'm surprised y'didn' scream at the top of your lungs and panic in front of Mr. McCoy and everybody."

"Took every last ounce o'will at my part," Remy nodded solemnly.

"How come ya just went to bed then? Didn't you think about escapin' or was it because Kitty was there that you couldn't?" Rogue asked, thinking back on how he must have ultimately ended up in her bedroom for her to wake up from there.

"T'ought about it. But first of all, was kinda hoping I could leave in de body I came wit, and second, I was having a hard time maneuvering. Seemed okay when I woke up – as far as okay goes when y'wake up in a body dat ain't your own - and even got de good doctor to give me de go-ahead, but as I was walkin' wit y'roommate, started losin' control o'de whole t'ing."

Rogue nodded, sitting up from her lounged position, the subject was rather perversely fascinating. "Kitty said somethin' about that. She told me Ah was walkin' around as if Ah was drunk."

"Not de aut'ority on de subject or none, but kinda felt like y'body was rejectin' me." Rogue's interest peaked. "What do ya mean?"

"When de body gets sick, it fights de sickness. T'inking dat maybe your body knows its owner, and tries to kick out anyone who tries t'take over."

That was a heady concept. Now that Rogue thought about it, when the psyches started taking over her body, they did it in turns. As if one could not sustain it all by itself for too long. She chewed her lip. Remy also stayed quiet in contemplation. They were both leaning forward now, the top of their heads about a foot apart.

"Where do ya think they are right now? The psyches, Ah mean?" Rogue asked, after some time elapsed. "Don' know," Remy shrugged. "Maybe dey hiding… until I go away."

"Because they're afraid of ya, right?"

"It make sense, non? De Prof come in, and dey go into hiding. De Prof takes off, and dey come back out t'play. Maybe dey t'ink I'm de Prof, neh?"   


"But what about that one time in the Med Bay? They all came out chargin' like the calvary and then left without a trace, and you said you were there, right? How come they weren't afraid to come out in the first place?"

Remy shrugged again, shaking his head thoughtfully. "Mus' have triggered somet'ing… but don' know, yet."

Rogue nodded. She closed her eyes and ran shaky fingers through her hair. The tremble must have come from excitement. She never really tried too hard to understand the nature of her powers. Although the Professor tried to help her, she just couldn't open up to him. His presence was too daunting, and she always felt like she was being judged. Which was sad considering how the Professor tried so hard to come across as the father figure, but she just didn't feel comfortable around him to tell anything. Thus, she never made any headway in therapy. But a night with Remy brought more progress than a whole year of shrink sessions with Professor Xavier. She sighed inwardly, opening her eyes. When she looked up, she found Remy's face, mere inches away from hers, his eyes staring at her intently.

Her heart gave a jolt. Or was it her heart? Can her heart be in her mind? Wherever it was, it was now racing a mile a minute. She tried not to panic. Why was she panicking? She just met the guy, so why were her knees knocking? Wait, was it possible to have shaking knees in her mind? Shouldn't she be able to stop her knees from shaking just as well as she can keep that damn panda gnawing at that damn bamboo pole? Now her thoughts were shooting around willy-nilly. She tried not to think. Which turned out to be impossible. She felt him lean in closer, her eyes widened as her whole body froze. His breathing felt warm over her lips.

Wait, she thought, but her voice wouldn't work. He tilted his head slightly to the side as he moved in to close the gap between them. Suddenly, Rogue jerked back.

"Wait, you can't… my powers," Rogue warned, without thinking.

Remy stopped, his eyebrows quirked and he slowly smiled. "Your powers don' work in here, chere."

Rogue knew that. It just popped out of nowhere. Years of conditioning, that's what it was. She looked at him, unsure of what to say. 'Sorry for being dumb, can we try that again?' or 'Did you just try to kiss me?' Or should she feign disinterest and yell at him to back off? But what if he did back off? Did she want that? Or should she just throw caution to the wind, grab a handful of his gorgeous locks and finish what he started?

She must have looked a little green in the gills, because he sat back, smiled disarmingly and reached up to muss up her hair, like maybe how an older brother would do to a younger sister. Almost instantaneously, Rogue's heart sank three stories. She racked her brains to try to say something that might salvage the situation.

Suddenly, a wave of dizziness hit her like a brick wall, causing her to fall back. Remy shot up, grabbing her before she hit the ground. She looked up, and the background of the colorful Med Bay swirled around into dark oblivion. She looked up at Remy's eyes, using the red glow like a lighthouse at sea, but even that began to fade.

"Remy… what's goin' on?" she managed to say, gripping hard onto his arm as if it was her only anchor. She looked up again, and couldn't see him anymore. "Remy, where are you?"

"S'okay, chere." His voice soothingly flew up from the darkness before her eyes. "You just waking up.   


It'll be okay." Everything went white.

Rogue blinked. She was staring up at the ceiling of the Med Bay. The lights were on. She heard someone shuffling to the side. Remy, she thought. Rogue's head swiveled to the side, and instantly she felt a thousand hot needles of pain course through her neck and back.

"Ugh!" she groaned.

The shuffling came closer and when Rogue blinked back the pain, and squinted up with one eye, she saw Mr. McCoy. Her heart sank two more.

"Good morning, Rogue!" He said cheerily, then looked at his watch. "Or shall I say, afternoon?" "What time is it?" Rogue croaked.

"It's a quarter to one. I bet you are feeling excruciating amounts of pain right now. Your body is going to need some time to recover from the feat you pulled yesterday."

Rogue didn't say or do anything. It hurt too much.

"Don't fret too much, however. You'll be up and moving after another fortnight of rest. Or faster, mostly depending on you." Mr. McCoy moved to fluff her pillow, causing Rogue to grimace. He then proceeded to bring up a spoonful of applesauce to her mouth.

"What are ya doin'?" Rogue asked aghast and staring at the spoon as if it was alien to her.

"Well, you haven't eaten for 24 hours," Mr. McCoy stated amicably. He knew this wouldn't comb over well.

"Ah can feed myself!" Rogue snapped, and then was punished with another wave of pain down her neck. Okay, maybe not. She sighed in anguish. "Ah'm not hungry. Ah won't starve to death, so just, put it off for now, would ya, Mr. McCoy?"

"As you wish, Rogue. Did you need anything else?" "No, that's okay."

"Very well, then. Oh by the way, the Professor wanted me to alert him once you are awake. I had a sense that he wanted to talk with you about some important matters. If you are feeling up to it, I can call him now. How about it?" He smiled, so doctor-like.

"Sure," Rogue said, not really certain if she was sure.

Mr. McCoy nodded, and padded out of the room whistling a tune. Rogue's eyes followed his back going out the automated glass door. When he disappeared, she saw through to the room across hers. Remy's feet almost dangling off the foot of the bed. She ripped her head away from the view, her body searing with pain from the action. But the pain in the body was nothing compared to the pain in the heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunning's Original Author's Note:  
> Okay, here's another chapter. Ahhh~~ I love Remy. I really do. What a swell guy. =)  
> More mush. Which I like. But I gotta keep my dichotomy of romance and violence. So hopefully, some action will be coming our way. Oh and I'm glad everybody liked the Danger Room scene. I was thinking of not putting it in, and just getting Rogue to fall asleep regularly later that night, see Remy and get answers. But I'm really glad I decided to write it, since everybody liked it so much! Yeah, go Rogue!  
> Anyway, I'm getting everybody crying over the poor fate of Remy. Which is really sad. But the story gets a lot deeper from here, so I hope people won't be too mad at me for putting him in a coma.  
> Christy S: Oh there's gonna be a lot more of Rogue's strange, Cajun-enhanced, behavior. Especially at school~~! So don't you worry you're pretty li'l head.  
> Dark Void: yeah~~! action rocks! romance rocks! I love fanfiction! There, I said it. Are you happy, world?  
> Kanshisha Tenshi san: Whew~~ no holes... so far, right? Definitely, not the normal romance. But my favorite kinda romance is the tragic kind. Where it's sweet but utterly heart-breaking at the same time. So Rogue's gonna have to deal for now. Hey, the girl can't have it all~! Great guy like Remy. Can touch him when they're on dates. Danger room skills. Anyway, just see what happens. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Or just suprised. Or just pleasant. Or maybe neither, who knows?  
> Lady Aurra: Sorry, hun. Remy's staying in his coma for the time-being. But keep reading. And comment when things don't go your way, cuz I have the tendency to change my thinking as the story gets put on screen.  
> Leigh, Silver Goddess, Sara, and DisturbedRogue: sorry you guys got clumped into one shout-out, but just wanted to say I appreciated your reviews!  
> Lady MR: I can't tell you anything without giving out the plot!  
> ishandahalf: My dear ishy, your reviews are so entertaining! I'm glad the reasoning makes sense to you. I'm all about reasoning. But you're gonna have to really pay attention with the reasoning behind Pyro's madness, cuz it gets pretty trippy. It ain't rabies, I'll tell ya that much. But I still won't rule out crack... just as a safety net. =) heh heh  
> Lisboa: terrible to hear that you were ill, but hey! Ten pounds! Your story sounds very original. And the casino bit made me think of Ocean's 11. (Have you seen that movie?) And Ocean's 11 makes me think of Brad Pitt. He's such a hottie~  
> starlightz6: keep reading, it'll all make sense... someday~~ And hopefully, Remy and Rogue will end up happy in one form or another. They deserve to be happy. I realized, in the midst of writing them though, that they are a terribly fun couple to play God with. Break 'em apart, put 'em back together, suck 'em in a coma, send 'em to Antarctica... no wonder Rogue and Remy are still the on and off couple after like two decades of dating each other! They're just too fun to torture. Evil writers~~


	10. Einstein

Rogue realized she had become very attuned to the swishing noise of the doors in the Med Bay. They weren't like the automatic doors in the supermarket, but very swift and high-tech. The glass was also thin and kept beautifully polished. Rogue didn't doubt that Mr. McCoy kept them that way. They were so clean, it was as if there really was no barrier between her room, the hallway and the room across from hers. And that was exactly the reason why Rogue kept her eyes fixed on the ceiling above her. She waited for the swish of the doors that would indicate the Professor's arrival.

Rogue was beginning to wish she had not been so quick to answer in meeting the Professor. She had no idea what to tell him. Or more accurately, she had no idea what to keep from him. She almost wished she could call Mr. McCoy, ask him to tell the Professor that she was still too tired to speak with him, and then go back to sleep so she could ask Remy what she ought to do. Rogue was afraid to do that, though. She was actually a little worried that she was depending on him too much. Sure, the guy was forgiving, understanding, sincere, beautiful and perfect and … But he was an enemy. Or that's what Rogue gathered was the status between the X-Men and the Acolytes. The more Rogue thought about it though, she couldn't help but thinking it was all too childish. The X-Men, the Acolytes, the Brotherhood: as impressive as the names and the attitudes were, they were merely loosely formed coalitions of teenagers. The only thing that made them enemies was whatever conflict the Professor, Magneto and Mystique seemed to harbor for each other. Of course, she went around rescuing people who were usually ungrateful, but she never thought of herself as a super hero, and everybody who opposed her as super villains. It seemed to her that life was never that black and white.

At any rate, she decided to give Remy any benefits of the doubt he needed. If he somehow led her to an untimely end, well, she couldn't say with a clean conscience that she didn't deserve it. But she was sure Remy wouldn't intentionally try to harm her. Because if he did, he would be just as screwed.

Asking for Remy's advice seemed like a better idea as time passed. But as she reached, with effort, for the call button that would summon Mr. McCoy, she heard the swish. She paused, and with a dreadful heart, put her arm back down to her side.

The Professor's hoverchair silently pushed the air until he was at a comfortable distance from her bed, not too close, not too far.

"Hello, Rogue. How are you feeling?" he asked with a smile.

"Like hell." She didn't lie. She figured she was probably going to lie a lot to this man, and it was better to keep some things honest. The Professor raised an eyebrow at the bluntness, but couldn't help genuinely smiling at her answer.

"I appreciate your frankness," and he meant it.

Wincing ever so slightly, she got up into a sitting position. Always the soldier, she quietly belied the screaming torturous protests her body was sending with every twitch.

"Mr. McCoy said ya wanted to talk to me about somethin' important," Rogue began. It was probably best to get this over with.

He nodded, his smile vanishing into a thin, grim line. "It is about Gambit." Rogue's heart lurched, but she didn't show it. "What about him?"

"You absorbed him. Although my understanding of your powers is minute at best, I do know that the more prolonged the touch is, the more you absorb and the stronger you retain the psyche. Seeing as how Gambit is presently in a coma, I cannot help but wonder if he has not been completely absorbed into your mind."

Well, Ah guess they call him one of the smartest minds in the world for a reason, Rogue thought. The pinpoint accuracy of the Professor's words rattled her. Rogue didn't answer, for the lack of answers. Her silence impelled him to continue, but his voice softened a notch.

"It is understandable to be afraid, Rogue. But if he is indeed in your mind, his psyche is most likely stronger than any you have dealt with in the past. I know I haven't succeeded much in the past, but if you would just open up to me, I can help you. If his presence becomes a burden, I can try to find a way to eradicate him."

Eradicate. She knew the Professor had good intentions, but Rogue couldn't help but shudder at the violence the Professor was capable of. This man who proclaimed himself to be the active pacifist. He wanted to do away with Remy, erase his soul from her, as if he didn't matter. As if she didn't matter. But the Professor would not be able to understand the different kind of burden Remy heaped on her. It felt pleasurable, but so much more painful at the same time. She stayed quiet, looking at her hands, not trusting her voice to say anything wise with so much emotional tumult behind it. After awhile, the Professor sighed.

"Rogue, please say something. I cannot read your thoughts, even if I wanted to," he said. Rogue was glad for that, this new power that probably came from Remy. She would have to ask him about that later. Why she was able to utilize this power all the time, when she could not use others, like the charging ability. And the French, how could she speak French? New sets of questions queued in her mind, and she wanted nothing but to sleep. She wondered if she could excuse herself out of this situation by saying she was tired and wanted to sleep. It was true, after all. She opened her mouth to speak, but when she lifted her eyes to the Professor's gaze, she was surprised to see the hurt concern in them. The words stopped. She couldn't do this to him. He probably felt suffocated, his powers relying heavily on communication, knowledge and trust, which she was giving none of. She looked at him and faintly smiled, forcing herself to see the father figure.

"Professor," she began, her voice colored with gratitude and exasperation, she could have just as easily said 'Dad'.

The Professor regarded her with a curious gleam in his eyes. She realized she had never seen him like this before.

"Ah want to tell ya, but Ah don't know where to start. Yes, Ah absorbed… Gambit." She caught herself from saying his real name. "He's probably floatin' around in my head, but the thing is Ah can't feel him. Maybe he has some power where he can keep himself quiet."

"But what of his memories? Can you not see his past?"

"No, Ah don't know a thing about his past." This was also the truth. Rogue wondered this herself, why she did not know everything about the life of Remy LeBeau. There was something else that was bugging her, but she lost the trail of the question before she could form it. She wondered what it was, when she could almost sense the Professor's rising curiosity.

"Perhaps, you have absorbed him so much that he can be a separate entity in your mind," he reasoned,

almost to himself.

"Maybe," Rogue replied. The Professor was right. Remy was a whole other being in her head. The elusive question was back, dancing around in the back of her head. "Do ya think the reason why ya can't read my thoughts came from him?" she ventured, much to the Professor's surprise and hers as well. But that wasn't the question that was annoying her.

"That certainly is a possibility. Cerebro did not offer much information regarding him. His known power is to convert the potential energy stored in inanimate objects into highly reactive kinetic energy. He also possesses abnormally high agility, but we cannot deduce this as a mutant power yet. He's originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, but records show he has not lived there for over three years now. Other than that, and his name, we do not know much about him. I am not even certain when he came into league with Magnus." The Professor stopped, his brow scrunched up in importance. Rogue couldn't help but regard the light bouncing off his head. She read somewhere that Einstein's hair always stood up on its end because he thought too much. She wondered if it was the same way for the Professor. Except the hair in his case, all fell out. She observed the Professor, and could not for the life of her, imagine him with hair.

"Rogue? May I ask what you are thinking?"

Her eyes guiltily shot back to her hands. "Nothing," she mumbled.

"It's okay to ask, Rogue," the Professor said, moving in closer. "I need to know in order for me to help."

She nodded, trying desperately to think of a question that might be appropriate. Suddenly, the question that she was trying so hard to find dawned upon her.

"Can he read my thoughts?" Rogue asked, barely above a whisper. Suddenly, the color rushed into her cheeks. What if Remy knew everything she was thinking? Knew everything she felt and wanted. Her thoughts hovered over the kiss they almost shared last night. The confused ranting that went through her head. Oh Lord, how embarrassing. Please say it ain't so. Say it ain't so.

"Rogue? Do you think Gambit can read your thoughts?"

"Ah dunno, Professor," Rogue said quietly. Another honest answer. This conversation was going quite well.

"Well, if he can read your thoughts, shouldn't you able to read his?"

She looked at the Professor, unbelievably relieved by that answer. Still, she couldn't be too sure. "Ah suppose," she said.

"If it is his mental shielding capabilities that you have absorbed from him, then his other powers must be functioning in you as well. If his natural agility indeed is a mutant power, do you think perhaps yesterday's session in the Danger Room was a collaborative effort between you and Gambit?"

"Maybe." She was almost certain that she was not capable of being in the simulation for over an hour relying on her athletic skills alone. Yet she wanted to believe that it was all her doing, and the heightened physical finesse was due to her lack of distraction with the normally omnipresent psyches in her head. She doubted it though.

"How about his charging ability? Have you tried that?"

Rogue opted not to say anything. She wanted to see how far she could go without saying a direct lie. In answer to his question, she picked up a pencil instead, that was lying on the bedstand. She concentrated on the pencil, waiting to see if it would burst into pink flames. Nothing happened. She put the pencil down.

"Ah guess it doesn't work," Rogue replied.

The Professor nodded, his eyes becoming heavy in thought. "How odd, that you can use one power but not the other."

Odd, indeed, Rogue thought. She wanted to ask Remy about it, but then the fear that he might be able to read her thoughts made the idea of confronting him distasteful. She watched the Professor, his forehead marked with deep grooves of contemplation. She could imagine his brain working furiously under storm clouds, complete with grease and lightning. She thought of Einstein again. After the famous scientist died, they had supposedly cryogenically preserved his brain and cut it up into little pieces for study. Rogue wondered if Einstein's brain would look similar to the Professor's, all pink and nothing but wrinkles, she surmised. Rogue then wondered if Einstein was a mutant. Quantum physics. He probably was a mutant.

She noticed him looking at her again, his expression asking her what she was thinking. She smiled suddenly, a chuckle escaping under her breath. The Professor's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"What is so amusing?" he asked.

"Do ya think Einstein was a mutant?" she asked. "Excuse me?" the Professor gave her a bewildered look.

"It's just that when Ah see ya think so hard like that, it makes me wonder if Einstein was the same way," she explained. She didn't know why she was saying this to the Professor, but she didn't regret it. A thought came to her that being classified under the Greatest Minds of the World category must be a very lonely thing. The Professor was always regarded as that: the Grand Thinker. Even Storm, Logan and Mr. McCoy kept a professional distance. And among the kids, everybody was a little freaked out by the Professor.

"Well, have you studied quantum physics? I wouldn't put it past the man," he replied after digesting what Rogue had just said.

Rogue blinked, then laughed. The Professor joined in quietly. The laughter subsided into a friendly silence.

"Ah'm sorry we got off subject. Ah guess Ah'm still a little tired, makin' me talk gibberish," Rogue apologized. "Ah didn't mean any disrespect."

"No, of course not, Rogue. I'm glad you brought it up. Actually, I'm very glad. Thank you." The Professor warmly smiled at her, and for an instant Rogue felt like a daughter. She looked down at the sheets of her bed sheepishly.

"Well, I will let you rest then. Try not to work so hard in the Danger Room next time," he said. Then, tilting his chin up thoughtfully, he added, "I believe Logan is going to have to train harder in order to

beat your record. He won't take a liking to the fact that he was bested by a sixteen-year-old girl now, would he?"

"Yeah," Rogue laughed.

"Would you like to tell me anything else?" the Professor asked, hopefully.

Rogue shook her head slowly. "Ah don't understand enough to ask for anythin' yet, Professor."

He nodded. Then giving her another reassuring smile, he reversed his hoverchair, heading for the door.

Swish, the door parted. He went out. The door swished closed. Then, the door swished open again. Rogue turned her head slightly to find the Professor again.

"Rogue?"

"Yes?" "Thank you."

And with that, his chair hummed him away. And another swish marked his departure.

Sunning's Original Author's Note (it was too long to add to the endnotes):

Hi everybody. Sorry for the dull chapter. No Remy. No Romance. No action. Dull, indeed. But I had to establish this relationship between Rogue and the Professor in order for some scenes in the future to take on better meaning. So many of you decided to review ch.9 that I'm afraid my reviews are going to outweigh my writing. But whatever, here goes:

vagabond: Uh oh. I'm sorry if sometimes Rogue's moods aren't consistent. They make sense to me when I'm writing it cuz I kinda know everything. But I worry, cuz in the eyes of the readers, it just might look bizarre. If you have questions regarding any specific inconsistencies, I'll try to clarify it. But in any case, thank you for reading and the loverly review!

Neurotic Temptress: You, mademoiselle, are a smart cookie. I'm glad you like the angel/devil dichotomy~! I was hoping somebody would notice! I had a crazy English teacher in high school who ate those kinda things up. So I'm really into putting subtle literary techniques into my writing... like alliteration (ie. quaint queries, picture-perfect pout, etc.) and constantly playing with syntax. The fact that people can appreciate it makes my efforts worthwhile. Now if only I can solve typos. I hate reading back at my work and I find like a glaring spelling error or something. Grrr... I won't mention any specific ones in hopes that you haven't noticed... heh heh

As for the "body rejectin" line, you're absolutely right to compare it to an organ transplant. I was actually thinking of using that analogy instead of the "fighting the sickness" one, but I thought maybe the organ transplant would be a little too much for something that Remy says. I mean i think Remy is smart, but the best thing about him is he doesn't declare it or he almost tries to shy away from it... He's wonderfully contradictory: like he's so incredibly cocky yet humble at the same time... Anyway, I digress. If you thought the concept was interesting, I'm happy to hear it. I'm a biochem major, so I really like getting down to the molecules of a problem. It's actually kinda bad, when I'm in class supposed to be taking notes... and I'm like: hey, this stuff can explain why Remy does such and such. Ugh~~ it's really sad.

Lace123: Yay! You read the whole thing in one go, huh? And I am ever so grateful that the "language is clear and to the point." Whew =P

Dark Void: The Professor has actually taken a semi-big role in my fiction. Which I'm a little surprised to see. Cuz I didn't see it coming. I just started writing him, and turned out he was not that bad of a guy.   


I'm not sure how I feel about him, yet. I thought I saw him as the Hitler-type, but then I began to confuse him as the Captain Picard in Star Trek-type (the movie =P) but turns out that I think he's Einstein. And he's similar to Einstein, in the sense that Einstein was always noted as saying all these wise and wonderful proverbs yet he was in actuality a horrible father, married his cousin and all that. And I can see the professor screwing over his personal life for the sake of his 'dream' or whatever and end up hurting all his student soldiers.

Christy S: I'm glad you like their "mind-scape" as you so aptly put it! When I first thought of this fanfiction story plot, and Gambit being absorbed completely, I kinda was turned off by the idea. But I figured if Carol did it, Gambit can. But I think even Carol wasn't absorbed all the way... didn't she come back to beat Rogue up? is that right? Anyway, it's probably best to not make too much comparison to the stuff in comic-verse. They are so inconsistent with their storlylines anyway.

Lady MR: Remy's empathy plays only a minor role in my fic, but I'll definitely mention in the upcoming chapter.

bluegirl: yeah. the big fight's coming, but it'll take me awhile to build up to it.

sujakata: I'm so glad you're enthused over this fic! Ahhhh! I'm not sure how you're concluding the story, but don't give me too many ideas! I kinda have it figured out, already and if people start surmising how it's gonna end... I get distracted. I even tried to stop reading other peep's fanfic until I finish mine, because I don't want too much external influence!

Ish: "holy embarrassment, Batman!" you are too funny

Lisboa: Oh my gosh, if Remy was in your casino flick, he would totally play the Rusty in ocean's 11 role (Brad Pitt), don't ya think? Yunno, the cool, handsome guy who does all the planning... but then I bet with Remy's skills, he could take on a whole casino by himself!

Alwaysright: Yay~! New fan~ I promise no 2 minute happy endings. And Remy's fate will be completely different from what Cody's was.

Jadeoblue: Ah, you bring in new possibilities. But alas no, Rogue can't control Remy like that. I guess if Rogue could do that, she would be able to have too much control over Remy's powers and such... and I want to establish the idea that she has no control over Remy. He's a big ol' question mark. But your questions about jealousy and the clothe-changing part is interesting! I'll try to address it later~~

Ahhhhh~~ sorry, the shout-outs are getting too long! I'm sorry I couldn't get to everybody who wrote reviews. But anyway, i'll try to post the next chapter soon. Thanks for reading!


	11. Projection

To sleep or not to sleep. That was the question.

Rogue thoughtfully pushed the applesauce around her mouth with her tongue. She had finally decided to eat something, and with dangerous dedication, she gritted through the pain and ate the whole bowl. She put the empty bowl down on the stand, and shakily exhaled. New Danger Room record or not, she wished she had not put herself in this predicament. She couldn't even consider this a victory over Logan if she was hospitalized after it. But then again, he had the benefit of a fast-healing power. A thought dawned on Rogue. Did Remy have a fast-healing power similar to Wolverine's? The Professor hadn't mentioned anything about that being logged into Cerebro's database, but then the super-computer had not known about his mental-shielding capabilities either. Rogue remembered waking up from her fight with Sabretooth and Pyro, completely healed and active. If Remy had that power, then shouldn't she be able to heal up from this major body sore in a matter of minutes? Maybe that power, like the charging ability, was also unavailable and sporadic for her. Thinking about the charging ability again brought her a whole slough of questions.

Ah guess Ah can just ask him, she thought with a sigh. She was trying to convince herself that Remy couldn't read her mind. Her dream gave her no indication that he could. For instance, why would he have asked so many questions if he could just read the answers from her like an open book? But then, there were those times, where he almost knew what she was thinking. Those times when she could have sworn that he was some kind of divine being sent to comfort her.

She also learned that he was cognizant of her daytime activities. He had known that she had visited his body lying in the Med Bay. She had felt his horror in being separated, uneasiness that manifested itself as sickly bile threatening to ascend from her stomach. He had encountered the psyches that attacked her, felt tortured by them too. Instead of berating her along with them, he was tormented by them like she was. He wasn't just a psyche. He was a complete whole person, able to observe objectively the chaos that was her mind.

So, was he observing now? Was he the third party witness of the shockingly pleasant conversation she just had with the Professor? What did he do in her head when she was not dreaming? Could he hear her thoughts? These very questions? Rogue paused. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and tried to focus on Remy. She tried to picture him in her mind, the way he looked last night. Long wispy bangs that framed high cheekbones, freshly shaven, smooth complexion, eyebrows dark and sharply angled, his nose tall and proportionate, anchored by full lips which always hooked at one corner in an unlaughing grin, and then there were those eyes that could be considered the 8th wonder of the world in its own right. It was an interesting phenomenon that she was attracted by them rather than repulsed. She had seen them before, lighting up in mischief as he handed her a card that would have probably blown off her hand if she had not come to in time. But even after she had thrown the card away, she couldn't ascertain what had happened. It had been that dizzying to look at them. But that wasn't what it felt like last night. They felt warm, gentle and completely normal, in its own unique way. Picturing those eyes that had complemented the understanding glances and reassuring smiles, she completed her mental image of him. Concentrating hard onto that picture, she yelled out loud into her mind.

*Remy! Are ya there? Can ya hear me?*

There was no answer. Okay, that wasn't working. Rogue tried to remember how exactly she got Jean to pick up on her thoughts when the redhead wasn't even meaning to. Jean had explained to her that she was projecting. Rogue couldn't really tell what was projecting or not. But then again, maybe speaking   


across a telepathic link was different from speaking to a person living inside your-

*Rogue?*

Rogue reacted as if somebody just slipped a cube of ice down her shirt. Startled by the sudden voice that resonated in her brain so crisply, she jolted to an upright sitting position on her bed, the hairs in the back of her neck standing on end. She ignored the screaming sore muscles from the sudden movement.

"Remy?" she asked aloud.

*Oui.*

There was a long silence. Rogue didn't move from her sitting position, her hands knotted around the sheet covers tightly, making her knuckles turn bony white. She really didn't expect him to talk back, and so… coherently. The voices always had a problem articulating themselves, their words against her were more like noise. But Remy's voice was uncanny. It sounded as if somebody had plunked some headphones around her, and she was hearing a surround sound digital recording of it. It almost seemed like he was in the room.

*Chere, y'dere?*

Rogue jumped again. This was going to take some getting used to. "Yeah," she said, a little timidly to herself.

*Dis isn't hurting y'none, is it? Y'wan' I should stop?* "No, it's okay. It doesn't hurt, it's just… weird."

*You an' me both. Jus' gets stranger and stranger as de day goes on, non?*

"Yeah." Rogue was almost numbly accepting the fact that she and Remy could now converse over some kind of mind link. She noticed the awkward silence in her head, and thought of what she could say to break it. "So… what ya doin'?"

Rogue heard Remy chuckle, a low melodic baritone. It suddenly made her feel at ease.

*You trying to make small-talk wit' de voice in y'head?*

"Ah'm tryin'," Rogue said, her voice beginning to settle down. "So, how are ya able to do this? Talkin' to me, Ah mean."

*Dere's dis button here, y'press n'talk like an intercom.* "You've gotta be kiddin' me! Are ya serious?"

*Non.* Then gave a short laugh.

"Ya havin' just a real ball playin' with my mind, aren't ya?" Rogue asked rolling her eyes, resisting the urge to rap her knuckles against her temple.

*Mais, I'd prefer playin' wit' de body, but y'work wit what dey give you, neh?* he said slyly.   


Rogue's face grew hot, but she quickly recovered. She exhaled long and dramatically. "Well, this is just fantastic, ain't it? Now Ah can have perverted thoughts running through my head 24/7."

*Now how dat be any different from before?* he teased. "Ah do not have perverted thoughts!" she said hotly.

*Den why y'so afraid dat I can read dem?*

Rogue sat still, taken aback by the question. "CAN ya read them?" she asked hesitatingly.

*Hmm… as exciting as de idea of torturing y'like dis is, chere, I'll tell y'de truth. I can't.* "Ya can't what?"

*Read y'thoughts.*

Rogue felt her body relax, relief flooding every nook and cranny. And then she stiffened again. "Wait a minute, how'd ya know Ah was afraid of ya readin' my mind?"

*I overheard y'ask de professor. T'ought it was funny when you asked de man about Einstein though. Surprised him and me both.*

Rogue nodded, becoming thoughtful again. "Remy, how come Ah can't figure ya out? Ah don't know a single thing about ya."

*Life. She ain't fun wit'out some mystery, non?*

"Too much mystery makes my head hurt," she complained, twisting her body uncomfortably. "And my whole body feels like it's bein' cooked on a spit."

*Aww… Y'wan' Remy to kiss n' make it all better?*

"Can ya? Ah mean, what Ah meant was, why can't ya heal me up like the first time? After the fight with Pyro and Sabretooth, Ah woke up and Ah didn't feel any pain at all. Wasn't that your doin'?"

*Non, chere. Not really in de healing business.*

"But then, how come Ah woke up without a scratch on me?"

*Mebbe y'absorbed a li'l of Creed.* "A little of what?"

*Sabretooth. He has de immune system on speed.*

"But Ah didn't absorb him. Or Ah think Ah didn't. Ah mean Ororo and the Professor told me Sabretooth had run off, and even had energy to fight off Wolverine. If Ah absorbed him, he should have been blacked out or at least enervated."

*But he had to have been touching y'skin. He was holding both of us down, n' if I touched y'skin, den he probably touched it too.*   


There was a silence as they both fell into thought and reasoning. Rogue couldn't make any sense of what Remy was telling her. If she had touched Sabretooth and absorbed his powers, why was he not in a coma along with Remy?

*Chere, what happens when y'absorb somebody?* His voice interjected after awhile. Rogue frowned at the question. "What do ya mean? Ah would think it's a little obvious."

*Non, I mean what happens at de moment y'touch somebody?*

"Well, there's this sucking sensation and then the most recent thoughts of the person kinda wash over me. If Ah keep on holdin' on, then Ah get more. In your case, Ah held on too long and Ah got everythin'." Rogue spoke softly, in hopes to lessen the harsh reality of her words. Remy didn't answer back. She wondered if it pained him to hear what she said, because it certainly pained her.

*What happens when y'touching two different people at de same time? D'you choose who t'absorb?*

"Ah don't know… Ah never tried…" Rogue stiffened, her defenses flaring at what Remy was implying. "Are ya accusin' me of willfully takin' ya life instead of Sabretooth's?"

*Not accusin' anyt'ing, chere,* Remy warned. Then his voice disarmed, trying to drop the tension that was threatening to build. *But even if y'did, not blaming y'for it. If it was me in y'position, I'd have chosen Remy over Sabretooth, too, if it meant I'd have t'be sharing de same living space wit him. Not sure if y'conversations wit him be dis pleasant, neh?*

Rogue sighed. Remy was too nice for his own good. She wished he would be a little nasty to her, so that she could be nasty right back. But his forgiving and good nature about the whole affair was knocking her off balance. She respected him to a degree that was difficult for her to sustain, and she wasn't good at being respectful. She honestly felt like she was walking on eggshells. But her insecurity did not sprout from the fear that he might lose his patience with her, but the fear that she might lose her patience with him. She was deathly afraid of hurting him. At least with the other psyches, she could just avoid them rather than risk angering them more. But with Remy, it was different. Everything was different.

"Ah can't choose who ta absorb, Remy. If Ah had a choice, then Ah'd choose not to absorb at all," she sighed.

*Sorry, chere, didn' mean-*

"Ah know. Please don't apologize," she said, a little curtly. The air in the Med Bay felt stagnant.

*Maybe, we should get out of dis room. Never liked de hospital atmosphere much.* "Where would we go?"

*Don' matter. Just out.*

Cringing, Rogue gingerly removed the blanket from her lap and tried to move her legs. Her muscles begged her to stop, but she forced them to get out of the bed. By the time she had managed to swing each leg off the mattress and onto the floor, she was out of breath and her brow was moist with the effort.   


"Are ya sure ya don't have healin' powers?" she groaned. "They'd come in pretty handy by now."

*Believe me, chere, as extensive as de list goes, dat ability ain't on it.*

"What are your mutant powers, anyway? Besides the charging ability, Ah mean?"

*Well, I guess y'can say dat de natural agility t'ing might be a mutant ability.* "Might be?"

*Can't say f'sure, might also be'somet'ing dat jus' came wit' practice.* "Practice of what?"

He seemed to consider the question, deliberating on whether to answer. *Promise y'won't get all morally correct on me?*

"Huh?" Rogue sat puzzled, then frowned. "Why, are ya like a male prostitute or somethin'?"

*NON!*

"Agh! Don't yell!"

*Sorry. De truth is I'm a t'ief by trade.*

"A thief? You mean like, you steal stuff? Like rob houses?"

*Depends on what kind o' house. Only like t'steal from de rich.* "An honorable thief, Ah see."

*Non, dey jus' have nicer stuff.*

Rogue laughed softly. After a moment, she became serious again, her voice on the cautious side with the next question, afraid to sound like she was prying. "If you're a thief, what are ya doin' with Magneto?"

*He has me on contract,* he said without hesitation. "Contract? So you're a hired thief?"

*Somet'ing like dat.*

Rogue felt a little relieved that Remy was fighting for Magneto because he had to keep his side of a business bargain. She was afraid that Remy might actually agree with Magneto's terrorist views on how mutants should rule over humans, and Magneto rule over the mutants. Or that's what Rogue assumed the man basically wanted, she didn't know or care enough to confirm her suspicions though. But then the thought that Remy would follow such a man solely based on money didn't sit too well with her either. Either case, she decided not to push the subject any further for now. Besides, Remy sounded a twinge uncomfortable talking about it.

"There's something else Ah wanted ta ask ya," she said, changing the subject. "The French. Not only the French, but the danger room session and yesterday mornin' with the rock-chargin' and the fact that   


the Professor or Jean can't read my mind… is that all because of you?"

*Oui, some of it. But others I'm not directly responsible for.* "What do ya mean by 'directly responsible'?"

*Mais, I'm not sure how it works m'self. But I can feed you m'powers. Like de time when y'charged de rocks. Y'started searchin' around in y'brain so hard, dat it was becoming a li'l uncomfortable in here. So I fed you de answer. Y'can say dat I opened up a pathway to my powers, so dat you can use it. But if I don't open't, den y'can't access dem.*

"Is that why I couldn't charge up the pencil? Or the paper towel? Because ya weren't allowin' me to?"

*Oui. Was kind' testin' it out m'self.* "And the session in de danger room?"

*Kinda enjoyed it. Let y'use m'abilities, and we make a pretty good combo, non?*

"Yeah, but let's not do it too often. Unless we can persuade somebody with healing powers to create a trio with us," Rogue joked, surprising herself a little. She realized she didn't joke too often regarding her mutant abilities. It was really nothing to joke about. But Remy's attitude was contagious.

*Three's a crowd, chere. Want y'all to myself.* She could almost hear the wink in his voice.

She tried to focus on the important questions, but it was hard when Remy's answers were loaded with innuendoes. A part of her enjoyed the attention, but it seemed odd to flirt with the voice in your head. She cleared her throat, to indicate she meant business.

"So what about the French?"

*De French I'm not too sure about. I mean I was hearing de conversation between you and de suave monsieur Dung Can, and Chere, I can say f'certain dat, dat was de moment I decided I liked you. But I wasn' trying to make y'say anyt'ing in French o'none. Was kind' disappointed dat de first-class insult fell on deaf ears, 'cept mebbe de teacher.*

"Ah don't get it, so how come Ah just started spewin' out French?"

*I'm t'inking dat it's because y'already know de language on y'own.*

"Ah don't know French, Remy. Why the heck would Ah be in the class if Ah did?"

*Oui, but y'understand it, non?*

That was true. Rogue was exposed to a small French community near her home on the Mississippi. She had picked up the language as a little girl, but forgot it when she moved away. She could still understand most of it, but conversationally she was a dud.

"So you're sayin' that Ah knew French all along, but Ah just never tried to use it?"

*Non, more like accelerated learning. You know de language enough dat when a complete dictionary come along, y'can use it. Dat's what I t'ink anyway. Language be a tricky t'ing.*   


"And what about the mental shielding? That is your power ain't it?"

*Oui, whatever dat's responsible for my charging ability put some kind' of force field around m'mind.* "So, are ya feedin' me your mental shielding power all the time?"

*I'm not feeding ya anyt'ing, chere. You doin' dat on y'own.* "What, HOW?"

*Rogue, dere's a lot o'mutant powers out dere. And from what I figure, dere's t'ree kinds. One dat's in de mind. One dat deals wit de environment. And one dat deals wit de body. You might t'ink dat y'powers are because of y'body, but de more time I spend in y'head, I'm beginning to t'ink it has more t'do wit' the mind.*

"What do ya mean?"

*I mean, not'ings wrong wit y'skin. It's somet'ing in y'head dat's doin' de absorbing. You have a powerful mind, chere. I wouldn't be surprised if it's stronger den a telepath's.*

"If it's so powerful, than how come Ah can't control it?" she yelled, a little panicked.

*Shhh… calm down, p'tite,* Remy's voice came soothingly. *It take some time, non?*

Rogue rubbed her hands together compulsively. She felt overwhelmed with all these new conjectures about the source of her mutant powers. She didn't know what to think of it. She combed her fingers nails over her scalp, adding some pressure and enjoying the tingly feeling. She let out a shaky sigh.

*Mebbe y'give me a tour around dis fine establishment?* he asked, changing the subject, as if knowing she was tired and afraid with where the conversation had headed.

She nodded. Taking a deep breath, she focused on the physical task at hand. Compared to the daunting problems with her mind, the pains in her body seemed somewhat more trivial. Nonetheless, the simple task of getting off the bed onto two standing feet was energetically taxing.

"Ah don't think Ah'm gonna get too far, Remy," Rogue said, at last, still standing, but not moving.

*Kay den, let's just find somet'ing else to do in here.*

At the suggestion, Rogue started looking around the small room. There was the bed, the glass door, a bedstand with a radio, a chair and a wooden door next to the chair.

*What's behind de door?* "The bathroom."

*Dere's an idea, chere. Let's take a bath,* he suggested huskily. "Together?"

*Mais, y'don' really have much choice in de matter now, d'you?*

"B-but… ya mean like naked?"   


*Well, I hear dat's de conventional way t'do it, but if y'have a different way, don' mind seein' dat either.*

Rogue blushed furiously, and grabbed her head in terrified horror. "Oh gawd! How am Ah gonna take showers or change clothes anymore, knowin' dat Ah have a frickin' voyeur in mah head!"

"Rogue?"

Rogue's eyes darted towards the door. Kitty stood there, a little stunned. Kurt stood behind her, just as equally puzzled. The three of them looked at each other in silence, Rogue standing there with her hands on her head, wondering how much they had heard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunning's Original Author's Note:  
> Note: I'm not the most computer-saavy person out there, so I'm not writing this in html. And I realized early on that I can't italicize anything, which is the conventional way to relay thoughts. So anything with asterisks (**) around it are considered projected thoughts. You probably figured it out by now, but just in case. =) And just cuz I love yall so much, and that I had extra time while was down, I have another chapter for you! Read on~~


	12. Emotions

Kurt and Kitty must have just come home from school. They still had their backpacks on, and Kurt's inducer was still active. He peeped over Kitty's shoulder around the room, making sure that Rogue was indeed talking to herself just now.

"Hi." Rogue said blankly.

"Hi," they said in unison. Kurt looked at Kitty, Kitty looked at Kurt, then they both looked at Rogue. "So how long were y'all standin' there?" Rogue asked, annoyed that they didn't even bother knocking. "Ve just got here," Kurt said. "Honest!" he added, when Rogue flashed him a skeptical glare.

"Who were you talking to Rogue?" Kitty asked, her expression dark. A strange cloud hung over the usually bright girl. She stood there with her arms crossed, challenging Rogue to try to evade the question. Rogue met Kitty's stare, becoming intense in immediate defense to Kitty's prying tone. Kurt looked nervously at each girl, feeling the tension in the air build.

"Nobody," Rogue replied, her voice aloof but her eyes unwavering. "It didn't sound like nobody."

"Whether it is or isn't, it's none of your business," Rogue snapped.

"Like hell it's not my business!" Kitty yelled suddenly. Rogue jumped, not expecting Kitty to scream at her like that.

"Keety, calm down. Vhere's all this bottled anger coming from?" Kurt tried lightheartedly. But Kitty's eyes remained fixed on Rogue, not paying the least attention to him. Rogue glared back, not appreciating the sudden ambush. Finally, Kurt couldn't take the charged atmosphere anymore, he mumbled some lame excuse and vanished in a puff of smoke. Both girls took no notice.

"You don't think I know it when you keep things from me? And like an idiot, I believe everything you say… because I think that maybe we're friends, and you'd be decent enough to trust me with your problems," Kitty rattled out.

"What on earth are ya talkin' about, Kitty?"

"I'm talkin' about French, dammit! The fact that you can speak it!"

Rogue fell silent. Kitty must have found out from somebody in her class that Rogue had prattled on in fluent French and then ran out during the middle of the class in a panic. Still, she didn't think it was anything to be this upset about.

"That's right, Rogue. You just happened to conveniently forget that part of the story." "So what? Must you know every single detail?"

"That's not detail, Rogue! That's the important stuff! Why do you assume that I can't take the heavy brunt of your problems?"   


"Why must you even butt into my problems?"

"Because I guess I got this silly little idea in my head that we were friends!" "You're the one to talk. Friends don't do back-up checks on each other!" "Well, maybe if you didn't lie to me all the time, then I wouldn't have to!"

"I don't lie to you. I just choose not to tell you things!"

"Why can't you tell me the whole thing? You don't think I can help you?"

"I don't need your help, first of all. And secondly, what's the point of telling you anythin' when ya gonna find out on your own eventually? So don't come bitchin' at me just cuz you couldn't get the gossip hot off the presses!"

"What? You think this is about gossip? What kinda airhead do ya take me for, Rogue?"

*Rogue, don't.* Remy's voice filled her head, keeping the scathing comeback at the tip of her tongue. Rogue fumed. *She jus' confused and hurt.*

*Of what?* Rogue projected back, still fuming.

*If y' had listened to her then you'd known,* Remy calmly stated.

*How can Ah understand anythin' she's sayin' if she's screamin' at me?*

*Stop screaming back.*

"Easy for you to say," Rogue breathed out in frustration.

"What was that?" Kitty asked. Her eyes had never left Rogue the whole time. "Nothin'."

Kitty threw up her hands in exasperation. She let out a bitter laugh. "It's always nothing, isn't it, Rogue?"

"Stop makin' a mountain out of a molehill. You're such a frickin' drama queen sometimes." Rogue heard Remy groan in the background, but she didn't care. Kitty was making a big deal out of nothing. Apparently, Kitty didn't think so because her eyes flashed violently, her shoulders went stiff, and a small vein at her temple throbbed mercilessly against the skin.

"You're calling ME the drama queen? You're the one who spends your whole life wallowing in self- pity. The reason you don't want my help is because you like playing the damn heroine in your tragedy of life!"

Rogue went livid. Clenching her fists, gritting her teeth and narrowing her eyes, she shot a look at Kitty that would have caused blood to freeze over. But Kitty stared right back, her jaw set stubbornly. Rogue quietly inhaled and prepared to unleash the most horrific tongue-lashing that was humanly possible. But suddenly, the room distorted in shape before Rogue's eyes. A sudden wave hit her right at the chest, knocking the breath straight out of her lungs. She fell back onto the bed.   


There was a strong pain that gripped her body. But it wasn't physical. Rogue felt like she was drowning in a pool. Nothing made sense. She felt betrayed… if only she could understand that she cared. Insecure… what if she doesn't trust me because she thinks I'm incompetent? Stupid… no one takes me seriously, I'm just a big joke. Hurt… because I thought she might see me differently… Anger… Frustration … Worry… Apprehension…

The pain cut through her like a thrust of thick, hot air and dissipated away, leaving Rogue disoriented on her bed, the sheets falling in a pool around her legs. She looked up, completely bewildered and disturbed. She felt two small hands latch onto her shoulders.

"Rogue, Rogue, oh my gosh… are you okay?"

Rogue found Kitty's face before her, the anger that was there completely gone, replaced with pure, unadulterated concern. Rogue looked at Kitty, dumbfounded. Tears stung at Rogue's eyes.

"Rogue, what's wrong?"

Rogue pushed Kitty away. She was disgusted by the girl. Kitty submissively backed off. Rogue saw a wounded expression and heard a loud sniff before Kitty turned and ran out of the room. Rogue touched her cheeks. They were wet with tears. Absentmindedly, she wiped them off with the back of her hand, and she looked at the glass door that Kitty just hurried out of. The glass gave off the reflection of herself sitting on the bed. Staring at the reflection, she never felt so much self-hatred in her life. She grabbed a pillow and heaved it at the reflection. The soft material thudded off harmlessly. Curling up into a tight ball, she closed her eyes shut.

"Ah'm so sorry."

She wasn't sure whom she was apologizing to.

*

Fingers brushed up against her face. They felt a little rough and calloused, but the touch was gentle and tender. She opened her eyes, her face buried in the sheets of her bed in the Med Bay. The fingers flitted away. She pushed herself up, but her eyes remained downcast. Long, sooty lashes hid the guilt.

"What was that?" she asked, looking down at the sheets that tangled around her ankles and swirled at the knees. "It was from you. Ah felt it."

Remy stood in front of her bed, his arms loosely at his side. "S'called empathy," he said after awhile. "You're an empath, too? Just full of surprises," she stated in dejection.

"Sorry, chere."

Rogue shook her head despondently. "Don't apologize. It's not your fault. You probably saved me from saying things to Kitty that I would have most likely regretted later."

"Dat was de plan, but forgot dat y'probably not used to what empathy feels like," he looked down at Rogue, who seemed desperately melancholy. He placed a hand on the back of her head. "Y'gon be okay, chere?"

He saw her hand travel up to her chest. Her fingers dug into the material of her pajamas, and closed   


ruthlessly around her heart. "This feels ten times worse than the psyches," she choked.

Remy sat down next to her on the bed, the hand on her head sliding around her slim shoulders. "M'mistake. Was a bad decision. Shouldn't have done it when y'friend was out of control like dat."

"Ah think Kitty hates me. Ah would."

"She don' hate you. She jus' cares so much dat it come out all wrong. You lucky t'have friends like her, dey de type dat don' betray you."

"If Ah don't betray her first." She looked like she wanted to cry. Remy cursed himself for opening up the empathy gates. There could have been other ways to stop Rogue. The effects of empathy were never this severe, unless the emotions were being overly projected. And Kitty must have been harboring a lot of ugly feelings for a while now to blow up on Rogue like that. Finding out that Rogue kept yet another secret from her probably made the tension snap. Remy was used to channeling the emotional waves that hit him. He could just as easily deflect it away, or pick up on it enough to get the gist of what the person was feeling. But Rogue, being new to the whole experience was tidal-waved with all the bad vibes that Kitty shot at her, which would have been a lot even for Remy to take. And like a sponge, she soaked it all up.

"Rogue, y'gon' have t'try t'forget what y'felt in dere," he said, realizing it was probably impossible, especially for somebody like Rogue who was most likely looking for something to replace the mean voices in her head. She said nothing, still clutching at her heart.

Rogue was drunk on pain.

Remy reached over with his other arm to turn Rogue so that she would face him squarely. She kept her eyes down and unfocused, but she didn't fight when he held her.

"Chere, look at me." When she didn't, he lightly held her by the chin and raised it to meet his face. "Y'have to get y'self out o'this funk. Can't let it eat y'up like dis," he said softly, intimately.

But she kept her eyes hooded, down and away. He wasn't sure if she could even hear him anymore. It was as if she was withdrawing from him. He brought up his other hand to stroke her cheek, trying to make her pay attention. She seemed to respond a little to the touch.

His fingers caressed her neck and pulled back her hair away from her face. Her eyes fluttered. With his thumbs, he traced invisible paths along her jaw, her ears, her cheeks, until one settled on her lips. Parting it ever-so-slightly, he felt the sharp intake of breath pass by the tip of his thumb. He leaned in, and pressed his lips to hers. Soft, moist warmth shuddered against his mouth. His tongue slid in, gliding fleetingly over hers. He could sense the sob that was deep inside her throat, causing him to go deeper to perchance taste it. But when he felt cold wet tears fall over his thumbs, he finally pulled away.

He tilted his head to admire what he had wrought. Her lips were swollen with the attention, pink and flushed. Her eyes were closed. Two clear streams falling down from the corners onto her cheek, onto his thumbs, onto his hands. He ran his fingers through her hair.

"Remy," she breathed. Her eyes opened. They glittered with the advent of the tears, yet remained clear and bright. Almost too bright. They looked vacant. He looked at her, a little puzzled. Half-closed and shrouded with lengths of lashes, the emerald-green eyes found his and bore through him. Then, her eyes   


turned away to stare past him, over his shoulder, across the room, outside the door, past the hallway, and into the room next door. He turned around to look at where she was looking. Remy froze.

In the Med Bay room across from hers, he saw his body. Instantly, he let go of Rogue's face, and shot her a look of confusion. This was her dream, why was she intentionally putting reality into it? Knowing perfectly well how much it would disturb him. How much it would disturb her.

"What- why are y'doing dis?" Remy asked, his eyes flashed dangerously.

"Never did apologize for it," Rogue stated, her voice unnervingly even. She kept her eyes locked onto the feet almost dangling off the foot of the bed. She swallowed, her eyes glazed over in too much angst, too much torment.

"T'ought we were gon' move forward from dis. Find a solution, rather den dwell in de past."

"Solution? There is no solution. You're stuck here for the rest of your life." Her voice was eerily plain. Remy felt his anger flare up, when suddenly he noticed the air around him. Reaching out with his empathy, he felt the emotion pervading Rogue's mind. She was trying to isolate herself. She wanted him to get angry.

"Know what you doing, Rogue. Don't do dis. You getting' confused from the empathy, try to t'ink t'rough de pain. Don't feed it," he said, his voice trying to calm her.

She shook her head side-to-side, her eyes still transfixed on the comatose Remy. "Ah didn't mean ta do it. Ah really didn't."

"Y'feel bad for what y'did to me? Dat's fine. I accept y'apology, non? And now dat y'forgiven, y'can move on," Remy said, trying to get closer to Rogue again.

Rogue finally looked up at Remy, her lucid, green eyes contrasting with the morbid intent behind it. "Ah don't accept your forgiveness."

The room lost shape. The white walls of the med bay crumbled. The glass doors melted. The floor gave out. Until there was nothing but Rogue and Remy floating in a dark void. Rogue folded her body, hugging her knees tightly with her arms and tucking them in with her chin. Her body began to drift away.

"Rogue! What are you doing?" Remy looked around the dark void. She wasn't waking up from sleep. It was something else. She was putting up some kind of barrier between them. A low, moaning noise sent chills up his back. Another groan. A curse. He looked around to find himself amidst the ghosts, the psyches. Shadowed figures appeared from nowhere quickly filling the dark void. He could not see Rogue anymore. Nothing but these lost souls. They swarmed around him. Enclosing him in their womb.

**Sunning's Original Author's Note (too long to add as end note):**

Hello everybody~! Man, I really missed you guys! Anyway, here's a whole lotta words thrown at ya. Hope it all makes sense. Just as a clarification, because I was having a hard time conversationally explaining the concept of her learning French. So basically, the reason why Rogue can use Remy's French and also the mental shielding is because to a certain extent, it's her power and knowledge that has been just enhanced by his, and she has merely assimilated his power and knowledge with hers. But powers like charging and empathy are inherently Remy's, and Rogue has no powers that can relate to that, so she can't use it at will unless Remy gives her access to them. Does this makes sense? =P Oh   


well, most of you probably don't care about this crack-science, right? Yall just here for the mush~

Anyway, I saw Daredevil over the weekend. And i was actually pleasantly surprised at how dark and brooding it was. My favorite type of superheroes are the dark and brooding type. =P But I think the best part of the whole movie was the X-men 2 preview! Gasp, it looks soooooooooooooo good! I hate Anna Paquin as Rogue, but I really like the casting job of everybody else... well maybe not Halle Barry. She's too girly. And Storm isn't girly, she's regal, yunno? I heard Gambit will maybe make a 30- second cameo appearance, psshh~~ that's just wayyyyy too short. But anyway, the action looks hecka good! I think movie-Bobby is pretty cute. And the blips of Nitecrawler's teleportation fight scenes look sooooo kickass! Cool! Me like.

Okay and now for the role call:

Trunks girl: Yeah, having more fans is a definite plus. Thanks you guys. *sniff sniff* You're the bestest! Lady Aurra: Hey hey, don't wave your money in front of my muses. They might get tempted, considering I keep them at sweat shop pay!

Leigh: Your reviews are always short, but worded in a way that really does make me wanna try harder. Thanks.

ishandahalf: I know, I'm evil. I give you a complete kiss. And then throw in a whole other conflict. Just can't have these picture-perfect scenes yunno what I mean? They're blase and overrated! But regarding your hate for math, I'm totally with you sister! Aghhh~~ math so totally sucked. That's why I don't take math anymore. But one time I just opened up my old calculus notebook, and I was like "Hey, this looks like my handwriting, but I swear I have no frickin' clue what any of this means!" It's kinda sad, but ask me if I care, and I'll give you an absolutely clear "NO!"

Lace123: I always liked Professor Xavier watching the Fox cartoon when I was a little girl. But as I started to grow up, and reason the contradictory nature of the Professor, I started to get the anti-Xavier- ness. But he's still the good guy in my books. So I just try to write him while thinking of the movie Xavier, he looks a lot nicer and amicable than the EVO Xavier. He looks scary in the cartoon, and ISH, I do believe it's the eyebrows.

Lisboa: Hun, when I read your review, I honestly started gettin' scared. You need to get some fresh air, and grab an ice-cream sundae and go meditate in a peaceful meadow to get some of your good vibes back. Talking in poetic english just can't be healthy! And yunno what the scariest thing was? Your poetic mumbo-jumbo actually made sense!

Neurotic Temptress: Yunno, it's such an ego-booster when people quote your work back at you! Thanks! Oh and in answer to your question, Rogue can't access the Cajun's memories b/c of Gambit's mental shielding. I think Carol had mental-shielding, too... but my argument is Gambit's been completely absorbed, where Carol was more-than-normal-like absorbed. This is also why Rogue can't access Gambit's powers too, because of the mental shielding. Otherwise, she'd have them all the time, like she was with Carol.

Luna-C: Don't explode all over the place! I gave you two chapters!

bunny angel: Yunno I've been meaning to take that summary down. I think one person flamed me after reading the summary and assumed that the whole fic was based on Rogue feeling really happy and giddy. But I don't think I could have written too much on that. And man, this fic is soooooo long! IT's NEVER GONNA END! But of course, it has to, right? I'm gonna try to finish it before May 2003, that's when the movie comes out. =P


	13. Absence

Rogue woke up to darkness. She didn't know what time it was, or how long she had been sleeping. Curiously, she found herself tucked in bed, the sheets folded comfortably around her. Pulling her legs out from underneath her covers, she rolled out of bed. Her body throbbed, but the pain was duller than it had been before, and she found herself able to walk without feeling overly exhausted. When she stood straight and stretched her sore muscles, a sudden pain stabbed her in the stomach. Hunger pangs. She couldn't remember the last time she had a full meal. She switched on the light and immediately clenched her eyes shut from the sudden brightness. When her pupils dilated back to normal size, she managed to find a hooded sweatshirt among her things and slip it on over her pajamas. She kept the hood on, just in case she bumped into anyone and they would see the, most likely, deplorable hair and puffiness that must complement God-knows-how-many hours of sleep. She also pulled on a pair of gloves, her fingers tugging on the material mechanically. Finally, she ambled barefooted out of her room in the Med Bay. It felt like she was coming out of a cave, after months of hibernation.

"Welcome back to the world of the living," Mr. McCoy said, not bothering to look up at her, but smiled while spying down the barrel of a microscope.

"How long have Ah been sleeping?" Rogue croaked.

"A total of 23 hours and 14 minutes! I've been keeping track ever since you came out of the Danger Room. My dear Rogue, you are setting new records left and right," he laughed amicably, finally lifting his face away from the microscope.

"Can Ah gets some water?" Her voice cracked.

He paused to write something down on his notebook, and then reached for a glass and a pitcher of water next to his lab station. He handed her a glass with water filled up to the rim. Rogue watched the glass, the feeling of déjà vu washing over her. She wondered if this glass was real or dreamt up. Looking at it intensely, she tried to wish it away. But it remained in her hand.

"It's filtered, if that's what you want to know," Mr. McCoy said, misconstruing Rogue's scrutiny of the liquid. She smiled apologetically and downed it in one gulp.

"You must be hungry," he stated after she handed him the empty glass. "Would you like me to get you anything?"

"Ah'd kinda like to get it myself, Mr. McCoy. Thanks anyway, though," she said, her words were a little slurred as if she was still waking up.

He nodded. "A fine idea. If you would like, you can sleep in your own bedroom now." "Thanks, Mr. McCoy," she said, trying to sound sincere amidst her drowsiness.

"You are most welcome." Offering another smile and a nod, he returned to his microscope, rubbing the blue fur on his chin thoughtfully. "How peculiar," he said under his breath.

Rogue might have asked what he was looking at, but she desperately needed some food. She exited the Med Bay, the glass door swishing open as always.

She had made her way up the elevator, crossed the foyer and into the swinging mahogany doors that led   


into the kitchen. She noted that it was 8 o'clock from the grandfather clock that stood in the hallway outside the elevators, so the kitchen had already been swept clean by whoever had dinner and clean-up duty that night. Rogue dully wondered when her turn would come, and pondered if she could get it excused due to excessive soreness. But she knew that wouldn't fly, considering everybody in this house was constantly nursing sore muscles from the Danger Room sessions, mutant power accidents and of course, the battles to save the world.

Foraging through the cupboards, she found some bread, peanut butter and strawberry jam. Taking a butter knife from a drawer, she spread the peanut butter generously on one side of bed, and opened the jar of jam. The steel knife jangled against the glass of the jar. Rogue let go of the knife, it made another dull clatter as she did. She silently stood there holding the jar of jam, looking at the unfinished sandwich in front of her. It was so quiet in the kitchen.

Rogue looked up at the ceiling and closed her eyes, heaving out a sigh. She really wanted to make this sandwich, eat it and then go upstairs, joke with Kurt and Bobby, fume over Jean flirting with Scott. Then maybe she'd get sick of that and end up watching Sam and Ray play videogames while poor Jamie gets left out. Or perhaps she would be in a compromising mood, at which she'd find herself helping Amara and Rahne with homework or listen to Jubilee gripe about her nonexistent love-life. Finally, she could retire to her own room, listen to Garbage on full blast while curled up to a mystery novel, and then talk with Kitty until they'd both get tired enough to sleep. She really wanted to do that. But this silence was driving her mad. The only thing she could think about, the only thing she needed and the only thing that gave her this heavy heart was the sound of his voice. She just needed to hear his voice.

She wasn't even sure what exactly happened. All she remembered was the incredible pain she felt in her chest. A pain that had originated in Kitty. It had hurt so much she couldn't breathe. But thinking about it now, it seemed small and insignificant. Like waking up from a bizarre dream, it was convincing and real while she was in the thick of it, but it felt ridiculous and fantastic in retrospect. Problem was, she said and did a lot of things that she could not take back.

Rogue couldn't take the silence any more, she swallowed her pride and decided to call out to Remy. If he was mad at her for shutting him out, she would beg for forgiveness. That was the least she could do after treating him the way that she had. Here was Remy, healthy and sociable, and she had shunned him away like she had done to all the other leperous creatures trapped in her mind. Empathy or not, the fact that she was capable of doing something so heartless to someone so undeserving, gave her a bad aftertaste.

*Remy?* she tried tentatively. There was nothing. *Remy, please answer me.* Silence.

Her heart sank. What was this she was feeling? There was something that was beyond guilt. Something that made her sick with worry.

Please be okay, she thought to herself, but she couldn't get herself to project it. She sighed in frustration, angry at this weird situation, and angry at herself. She jabbed at the jam with the knife, slapped it on the bread and threw together the sandwich. Her hands forced her to take a bite, to chew vigorously and to stop thinking. Marching over to the fridge, which was large enough to walk into, she grabbed a carton of milk and slammed the refrigerator door behind her. Sandwich in one hand, milk in the other, she collapsed into a chair and began eating and drinking loudly, to drown out the silence. She hated the peace. It left her alone with her thoughts. And her thoughts were only about Remy. And Remy   


made her feel sad and guilty and lonely and …dammit, why did she have to always push people away? Why did she have to scream at Kitty? Why did she have to absorb Remy? Why did she have to be a mutant?

She gulped the last of the milk and crushed the carton in her hands. She pelted it at the garbage can, and it bounced in anticlimactically. She wished the milk had been bottled in glass, so it would have made a larger sound when she threw it. She was so sick of self-pity.

Enough, she thought to herself. She would make everything right. And if Remy wouldn't respond to her, then she'd start with Kitty first. She got up and put away the peanut butter, jam and bread then headed out of the kitchen and into the foyer that would lead up to the rooms. But she stopped at the foot of the stairs, holding onto the banister for balance, when she heard a familiar, gruff voice coming from the Professor's study. Quietly, she tiptoed to the door and peeped inside. All the students were lounged in the study, having a meeting with the Professor, Ororo and the owner of the gruff voice, Logan. The Professor sat behind his desk, his demeanor quiet and attentive as one of the kids moved to say something. The room inside was warm with the congregated body heat and was flooded in bright, golden lights. From where Rogue was standing, the scene reminded her of something that might be found on a Hallmark Christmas card. Looking at them behind this heavy door and eavesdropping into their conversation, Rogue couldn't help but feel left out. They probably did not want to wake her. The meeting was probably not that important. They probably thought she would be cool with it. Probably. Despite the excuses that she created to redeem them, the childish fear of abandonment did not go away.

"So basically, all we know at this point is that Pyro is undergoing some kind of surgery, and whatever made Pyro crazy, Sabretooth wasn't affected by it?" Jean asked. Rogue's ears perked up.

"And what about Gambit?" Scott' asked. Rogue's heart skipped a beat.

"We do not know if he was exposed to any of it, but Dr. McCoy is undertaking a DNA analysis as we speak," the Professor reassured. Rogue's breathing quickened. What were they talking about? Exposed to what?

"If Gambit was exposed to it, aren't we endangering our lives by keeping him here?" Scott voiced. Rogue suddenly could not fathom the reason why she ever liked him.

"Don't get paranoid, Shades, it ain't contagious," Logan said.

"You don't know that," Scott warned. He was getting bolder as time passed. Scott was the only one who talked back to Logan, with the exception of Rogue. But she was like that from day one.

"Sure I do, Junior. You don't see any of us foamin' at the mouth now, do ya?"

"Logan is right, Scott. The demutagen is most likely not transmittable by air," the Professor interjected quickly before Scott could react to Logan's flippant remark.

Rogue could not understand what was going on. What was this demutagen they were talking about? She debated whether it would be better to just go in and ask. But she stayed when she heard Ororo's voice descend onto the room.

"What I do not understand is why Magneto has not demanded the return of Gambit yet. Even if Pyro has for the time being lost all coherent thought, Sabretooth must have surely reported the encounter with the X-men to Magneto."   


"Considerin' the boy's in a coma, maybe ol' Mags don't need him anymore," Logan offered. "Perhaps," was Ororo's simple answer. But her voice was colored with skepticism.

"This is just me thinking, but shouldn't ve be more vorried that people are making this thing called demutagen?" Kurt asked, a little nervous.

"I suspected that people would begin to fear mutants once they realize what we are capable of, but I did not know the extent of preparation that they had undergone. Years of research must have gone into the theory of a demutagen being possible if it is already available in physical form, but the knowledge of mutants have been a recent one," the Professor concluded. It seemed like he was talking to himself rather than answering the question, because Kurt looked a little puzzled. "In any case," he continued. "I just wanted to keep you all informed, because some of you have been curious as to why Pyro decided to burn down a block of the neighborhood."

"Yeah, the boy was on crack," Jubilee tossed. "Not crack, Jubes, demutagen," Bobby corrected. "Whatever." She rolled her eyes in indifference.

The Professor resumed. "Furthermore, as many of you already know, Gambit is in a coma, and until I know more information, I intend to keep him here. Our first concern is your safety, however," he paused to nod at Scott. "And what Ororo said is quite possible. If Magneto knows that Gambit is here, it is not unlikely he might demand him back into his custody."

"And if he does, will you send Gambit back?" Scott asked. Rogue held her breath.

"I cannot give you a positive answer, yet, Scott, but mark my words. If keeping Gambit here endangers your livelihoods in any way, I will not hesitate in turning over his body to Magneto."

Scott nodded, not thrilled with the answer but satisfied. The meeting adjourned and the younger kids began to exit first. Rogue quickly moved across the foyer and hid behind the staircase. She had no idea why she was hiding, but it seemed like a good idea. As the kids filed up to their rooms, she heard various snippets of conversation.

"Too bad he can't stay," she heard Rahne whisper. "Have you noticed how incredibly hunky he is?" "Sure, if you like the comatose type," Amara said.

"That's probably why Scott's so bent on getting rid of him," she heard Jubilee hiss. "Bet he's all threatened that Jean might find a guy in a coma more interesting than him."

"Why the heck would Jean fall for a guy in a coma?" Rahne asked.

"Girl, you haven't met Duncan," Jubilee said, all-knowingly. Rogue doubted Jubilee had met Duncan either, but Rogue was a little guilty in confiding in the young girl from time to time, having been attracted to Jubilee's cynicism. Their voices floated away as they ascended up the stairs.

Rogue chewed on her lip. She realized she had never asked Remy what exactly he was doing there that night, and why Pyro was acting all crazy. She wondered if Remy knew about this demutagen. She closed her eyes and projected his name again, desperately hoping he would answer her back. But   


silence reigned in her head. At least she knew he was still in there, otherwise the voices would not be quiet. However, she derived very little comfort from this thought. If only he would just let her know that he was okay. She just wanted nothing but to apologize to him. She wondered why he wasn't answering her back. Was he really mad at her? Or was he unable to? She wondered if she had somehow broken the connection with him. But she was never successful in completely breaking off from the psyches, so she couldn't understand why it might be possible with Remy. There were so many things she wanted to ask him now. But more than that, she just needed to apologize, to hear his words of reassurance, to feel the warmth of his embrace. She remembered the kiss, and the memory of it caused an unconscious hand to float up and touch her lips. No, it weren't these lips that he had kissed. It had all been in her mind. But it was the closest thing she ever felt to a real one. She was conscious of this heavy yearning in her heart to hear his voice, to see his face and to feel his touch. Was this love? But how could it be if he only existed in her mind? She couldn't understand why she was feeling this way, and it made her feel foolish to try. So Rogue stopped.

As she heard the door of the study open so the rest of the students could file out, she silently slipped out from underneath the staircase, and quietly made her way back down to the Med Bay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunning's Original Author's Note:  
> Don't have much time right now, so I can't review everybody who reviewed.  
> Kash: In answer to your question about the twists, I almost unconsciously add twists as I go. The hard part is working out the twists so that it makes sense. And I think I spent a lot of time thinking about the reasons why these twists supposedly makes sense, so that's why I have to force myself to stop writing in more twists so that the story can make sense. Am I making any sense? Is this review getting all twisted? =P  
> Ishandahalf: Did you notice the crack? That was for you!  
> Lisboa: Ooohh~~ I was reading the suggestions for your summary. And then, I started getting a headache. Summary's are hard! Maybe I should just write: "Remy/Rogue: REad It!" Because I know that always works for me.  
> Christy S: Yunno, after reading so many fanfiction, I completely forgot that Remy doesn't have empathy in the comics! But it's okay, cuz it's just fanfiction and it's an easy way to explain how Remy is so quick to forgive Rogue's faults. But I do know for a fact that the charm power is an official power, some kind of low-level telepathy that radiates from his eyes or something, similar to hypnosis. But I read an article, where they interviewed Claremont about it, and he replied that at first, Gambit had that charm as a mutant power, but as the comic progressed, they just ended up drawing him better and better looking. Anyway, just wanted to share that. Because it made me happy that they were intentionally drawing Gambit all hot and sexy! Yay~~


	14. Angel

Preoccupied with thought, Rogue shuffled into the basement hallway with her head down. When she turned around the corner to head to the Med Bay, she bumped straight into Mr. McCoy.

"Oof!" Rogue spilled onto the floor backwards, and her sore joints screamed in agony. "Rogue! My apologies! I didn't see you coming!"

He seemed brimming with energy as he whisked her up in one powerful swipe. He set her standing on the floor, busily brushing dust off her clothes. She squirmed away in discomfort.

"Oh, sorry, you must excuse my inattentiveness, I just discovered something quite fascinating, and I was actually headed up to tell Charles and the others…Oh my stars and garters! I completely forgot to tell you to attend the meeting with the students and the Professor, what a fool I am! My apologies, Rogue, oh but! Wait! I must show YOU first!" he rambled enthusiastically.

"Show me what?" she said, a little frightened by the way his hair whipped around in feral animation.

"Please come back with me to the lab, and I'll explain it to you," he said, and gingerly taking Rogue's arm in the crook of his, he led her down the hallway, patting her hand with his in friendly reassurance. Rogue was a little taken back by his forward gesture, but realizing he had not given a second thought to touching her, she had to inwardly smile at his innocent amity.

"Is this about the demutagen?" she asked, her curiosity starting to rise. "Oh! Did you attend the meeting after all?" he asked.

"No, Ah just caught a little of it, was kinda busy feedin' myself," she said.

He nodded his head in thoughtful vigor. "Well, I'm glad you ate first, because now I have the pleasure of explaining it to you!"

She gave a little half-smile, as they entered the Med Bay and he led her to the middle lab station. He pulled up a stool and indicated her to take a seat. She did cautiously.

"So," he said, drawing out the word as he leaned forward onto the station. "How much do you know in regards to the demutagen?"

"Not much," she said. "Ah know that Pyro was exposed to it and that's why he went crazy. Other than that, Ah couldn't really figure out what they were sayin'."

"Well, then let me first start out by how we figured out that Pyro was exposed. Did you know Logan is back?"

"Yes," she nodded.

"Well, after that night when we brought you and young Gambit back home, Logan had gone after Sabretooth once he saw that you were not critically injured. He returned early this morning with news that Pyro was taken to an underground laboratory to be treated by one of the doctors being commissioned by Magneto. Sabretooth had disappeared soon after depositing Pyro, and Logan was not able to follow up on him. But our dear Wolverine was able to find out the whereabouts of the three   


Acolytes on that fateful night, and not far from where you first encountered Pyro, there was a warehouse that went up in flames. Judging from the few remaining items that weren't burnt to a crisp, Logan deduced that the warehouse was being used as a chemical plant. At this point, Logan contacted the Professor to search Cerebro's database for a company name called "Hartwell Labs" and the computer made a hit that it was a privately owned biogenetics lab. Their HQ being in New York City, Logan with guile that I did not know the man possessed, managed to acquire a prototype of the chemicals they were producing at the plant in Bayville. The vile was labeled as Demutagen Prototype

  1. Apparently, Hartwell Labs was in the business of trying to find a cure for mutantism."



"A cure for mutantism?" Rogue's eyes widened.

"In name, but when Pyro somehow was exposed to the demutagen, well, he went berserk."

"Are ya sayin' that the demutagen in actually some kinda poison to kill mutants off or something?" Rogue asked, a bitter taste in her mouth. She knew humans hated mutants, but to trick them into taking poison seemed downright sinister.

"That's what we thought at first, but after further investigation of the properties of the demutagen, I have discovered that the chemical indeed is capable of getting rid of the mutant gene. Demutagen is able to go into the cell and cut out the gene responsible for mutation."

"But if Pyro was exposed to it, then how come he was still able to use his powers?"

"This is the fun part!" Mr. McCoy said, slapping his big hand merrily onto the counter-top and caused couple of the Petri dishes to rattle. "But first, how much do you know about DNA, Rogue?"

"Very little," Rogue admitted.

"Well, you do know that DNA is the material that carries our genes right?" She nodded.

"Then imagine if you will a human chromosome, which is nothing but a mass of DNA wrapped around each other. During mitosis, which is cell division if you remember in biology class, the chromosomes duplicate themselves, and when the cell splits, each new cell in your body has a complete copy of each chromosome. Recently, we have located a specific gene sequence that is responsible for mutation. They have coined this gene the X-factor. Depending on which chromosome this X-factor occurs at, different mutations arise. Are you following me here, Rogue?"

"X-factor gene responsible for mutation. Got it."

Satisfied, Mr. McCoy continued. "On the chromosomes, many genes are located along the lengths of the DNA strands. For example, the DNA sequence responsible for eye color might be on the same chromosome as the DNA sequence responsible for hair color. Now the closer these two sequences are to each other, the more likely it is that they will occur together. This phenomenon is called linked genes. So basically, if the gene for blue eye color and the gene for blonde hair were close to each other, they would most likely express together, as a person with blue eyes and blonde hair. If the two genes were far apart, there is a chance that the DNA will undergo recombination and you might have blue eyes and brunette hair or brown eyes and blonde hair.

"Now our X-factor gene also resides on a chromosome and it can also be linked to other genes as   


well. For example, my X-factor gene might be linked to the gene responsible for blue hair. And thus, when I got the gene for blue hair, the X-factor gene followed along with it, and visa versa. Do you understand what I am saying, Rogue?"

"So linked genes travel together, right?"

"Very good! Yes, they travel together. So if one gene gets put in, the other gene follows and if one gene gets kicked out, the other gene is also kicked out. Now let us take my example of blue hair and the X- factor. We know that demutagen gets rid of mutant powers. Since I have blue hair because it came with my mutant powers, what would happen if somebody injected the demutagen in me?

"Ah suppose you would also lose your blue hair."

"Right!" He hooted happily. "Rogue, I must say you are such a pleasure to talk to."

"So, since Pyro was still able to make fire, did the wrong gene get cut out from his DNA?" she asked. She had to keep the subject focused, or she'd lose her concentration.

"Although anything is possible, I do not think that was the case. You see, having your X-factor gene linked with something as trivial as body hair color is not fatal to your system. But what if your mutant gene was linked to something more vital? Let's say, in the case of Pyro, cerebral function?"

Rogue remained quiet, soaking in the information. "You mean the demutagen cut out the genes responsible for his brain? Shouldn't he be dead then?"

"Well, the demutagen works like a virus. It enters the body through only one or two cells, and then goes into the nucleus and cuts out the X-factor. Then these cells that are missing the X-factor rapidly multiply, and these new cells eventually replace all the old ones and now you have a completely new DNA minus the X-factor. So if Pyro's X-factor gene was linked to the genes responsible for correct brain function, then when each new, demutagenized cell replaces an old one, he is slowly losing all the old cells that had the genes to keep his brain working properly."

"So while Pyro was fightin' me, his body was losin' his mutant powers and at the same, he was losin' his mind?" Rogue's voice went hoarse. She didn't know Pyro too well, but nobody deserved that.

Mr. McCoy nodded silently, his enthusiasm momentarily extinguished. "While the demutagen was proliferating throughout his body, he was incurring brain damage as well as losing his mutant controls over fire."

A momentary silence fell between them. After awhile, Rogue found her voice again. "He's gettin' surgery, right? Can't they fix him up?"

"Possibly." He didn't sound too sure. Rogue nodded in understanding. Things looked bleak for St. John.

"This is pretty depressin', Mr. McCoy, why were you so excited to tell me this?" Rogue asked, her voice sullen.

"Well, the conclusions I have arrived to with Pyro and the functioning of the demutagen happened a few hours ago. But what I most recently discovered, which I was in such a hurry to report to the Professor, was not regarding Pyro and the demutagen," Mr. McCoy paused, suddenly unsure how Rogue might react. "It was regarding Gambit."   


At the mention of his name, tiny hairs pricked up on the back of her neck sending scores of chills down her spine. "What about him?" she asked, barely above a whisper.

"I did a DNA analysis of his blood, and I have detected the demutagen in his body."

Rogue lost her ability to talk, to blink, to breathe, as her face blanched, making her pale skin almost take on a transparent green. "Wha-what do ya mean?" she rasped.

"He was exposed to the chemical, most likely a little after Pyro was, but his cells have been infected."

Rogue felt dizzy. She held onto the stool below her with vehemently tight fists. Afraid that if she let go, she would fall to the floor. She refocused her eyes onto Mr. McCoy.

"Are ya tryin' ta tell me that ..." She couldn't finish. She closed her eyes, bit down on her lip, and then tried again. "What's goin' ta happen to his body?"

"If the demutagen takes its full course, Gambit's mutant powers will diminish along with whatever that might have been linked with it. And depending on the linkage, it might prove to be fatal. But Rogue, pay attention now, I am not quite done," Mr. McCoy said, invoking a placid tone as he tried to calm down Rogue who was on the verge of hysterics. Her body shuddered, but she forced herself to remain attentive. She looked at Mr. McCoy, eyes pleading for better news.

"Although the demutagen has entered his body, it has not spread. Actually, let me correct that. While the demutagen was spreading throughout his body, something happened that caused the spreading to stop. And that something was you, Rogue."

She looked up at him, an absolutely confounded look splayed on her face. "Me?"

He nodded. "It seems as if the demutagen needs an energy source in order to multiply at the fast rate that it does. There's a threshold amount of electric action potentials it needs to amass in order to get this energy. Do you remember, Rogue, when I told you that the heart is able to keep its rhythm even without the brain?"

Rogue nodded. She thought about the monitors that were displayed above Remy's head. How the screen with the heart monitor beeped steadily in time.

"Well, the demutagen feeds off of electric pulses like the ones created in the heart's pacemaker. Except the pulses created by the heart are too weak for the demutagen to work off of. That is why the demutagen gets energy from the electric action potentials created by brain waves and the synapses of the nervous system."

"Ah'm not sure Ah understand…"

"Basically, Rogue, for the demutagen to work, the person needs to be thinking."

Rogue looked at Mr. McCoy, trying to register what he said. If the demutagen needs the body to exhibit thinking…and if it didn't work in Remy's body…

"By absorbing him into your mind, and putting his body in a coma, you have delayed the spread of the demutagen in his system. You saved his life, Rogue."

Those words vibrated all around her. She felt pressure build on the bridge of her nose, as tears   


threatened to come. She fought them back.

"Ah saved his life? By puttin' him in a coma?" she scoffed, she couldn't stop the sadness and pity from showing on her face. She just felt so bad for Remy. To think, that a coma had to be the better evil. "How is that helpin' him? It doesn't matter that his body wasn't demutagenized or whatever, it's not like he's in it. What's the difference between dyin' and bein' comatose?" Tears had begun to brim around her eyes, and her voice became strained from trying to talk through her grief.

Mr. McCoy dipped his face close to hers, looking into her eyes with such force and determination that her tears seemed to hold back all on their own.

"Rogue, in my books, the difference between death and a coma is as stark as night and day. There is a whole world of a difference. By keeping that demutagen at bay, we can find a way to remove it and preserve his body. By preserving his body, he can have the hope of one day waking up in it. And if you weren't there that night, then Gambit might have had no hope at all."

His blue eyes pierced through her, and Rogue couldn't describe what she felt. She felt sad and glad, happy and tearful, confused and relieved by what Mr. McCoy had said. All she could think of doing was to let go of the stool, put her arms around Mr. McCoy's thick, furry neck and cry into his labcoat. Her shoulders shuddered as she let of the sobs. A large blue hand enveloped them, steadying the tremors and warming her soul.

Rogue had made her way back into her bedroom. Kitty wasn't inside. She was probably with Jean or maybe Kurt. Rogue paced in her room, her thoughts unfocused, her eyes bleary and her ears muffed. A strange kind of numbness settled around her. She still could not register what she had been told.

She had saved Remy's life.

Rogue couldn't make heads or tails out of it. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to be happy or sad. Apparently, Mr. McCoy thought it was good news, that she had somehow inadvertently kept Remy's body from demutagenizing. And that her curse ended up to be a blessing in disguise. However, she just could not accept that what she did was right. It's not as if she knew that sucking up Remy was for his bodily welfare. She just stumbled into the right place at the right time. But it was strange. Before, she thought she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and if she hadn't been there that night, started that fight with Sabretooth, then Remy would have never fallen into a coma. But now, according to Mr. McCoy, if she had not been there, Remy would have lost his mutant powers and possibly his life. The irony of it all, boggled her mind.

There was a sharp knock at the door. Rogue wondered if it was Kitty. "Hey Stripes, can I come in?"

It was Logan. She opened the door to let him in. "How ya feelin'?" he grunted.

She shrugged.

"Why didn't ya come into the meeting?" he asked. She looked up at him, confused as to what he was talking about. "In the Prof's study, how come ya jus' stayed outside?"

"How'd ya know-?" she started to ask, when he tapped his nose, indicating he had smelled her. She sat   


down on the foot of her bed and sighed. "Just didn't feel like dealin' with anybody, Ah guess." He nodded. "Yeah, I hear ya."

"Ah heard ya had a busy night," she said, recalling how it was Logan who had collected all the information regarding Pyro and the demutagen.

"I heard ya beat my Danger Room record," he retorted in gruff good humor.

She let out a weak laugh, but her heart wasn't in it that it just ended up sounding like a forced exhale of breath. She didn't say anything else as her eyes drilled a hole in her feet. Logan leaned on the doorframe, not venturing to come into the room.

"Just heard from Hank 'bout Gambit. Thought it was good news from what I gathered, but ya don't look too happy, darlin'."

"Should Ah be happy?" she asked, her voice dull. "Why not, you're the boy's hero."

"Some hero," she spat. "It's not right. All Ah did was put him in a God-awful coma, and now Ah'm supposed to be all happy and takin' credit for rescuin' him, when that wasn't even my intent."

Logan nodded slowly, as if he was doing it for the lack of something to do. Rogue settled back into silence. He finally cleared his throat, as if to announce that he didn't enjoy being the adult.

"Look, Stripes. If ya were happy and takin' credit for rescuin' him, I wouldn't be here talkin' with ya. Ya know how much Ah hate pansy-ass flakes whose nuttin' but talk."

"Why are ya here, anyway?" she asked.

"Just lookin' out for ya, darlin'," he said. "And seein' how you're in your regular cheery mood, I'll just get out of yer way."

He saluted halfheartedly and grabbed the doorknob to close it after him. But he hesitated before he shut it completely.

"Whether you meant to do it or not, you still saved a man from death," his voice came from behind the door. "And even if you don't feel too happy about it, I bet he is."

The door clicked shut. Rogue sat in quiet meditation. Did Remy hear everything that Mr. McCoy had said? If he did, would he be grateful? She wasn't too sure. Remy had forgiven her way before all this talk about demutagen. And to that, she was grateful to the point of pained gratitude. She could not handle his kindness, because she did not deserve it. She turned him away, and said those harsh words. And although she could blame the empathy she was feeling at the time, she knew that to a certain degree she wanted to reject him first so that maybe he would reject her. But when she realized what she had done, she was so afraid that she might have actually succeeded.

But the tables had turned. Now she might actually deserve his kindness and gratitude. But she didn't want to pressure him to feel that he owed her or something. In her books, she still wronged him. She wanted to make him understand that she wasn't feeling any pride in saving his life. However, she was more afraid that calling out to him now would come off as her being self-assured and confident that he   


would accept her apology. She was afraid to say anything or do anything that might offend him. Yet she probably already offended him. Rogue buried her head in her hands, agonizing over the fact that she was agonizing so much. Why was she nervous around him? Why was it so hard? She thought she ruined the man's life, and turns out that she ended up saving him. So now the playing field should be even, and she could just treat him like everybody else. But he wasn't anybody else. He was Remy. Sweet, faultless Remy. She didn't know what to do with him.

Frustrated, Rogue looked at the clock. It was almost midnight. Kitty had not come back. Maybe she decided to sleep in Jean's room today. The feeling of abandonment came again. Rogue felt lonely. Kitty deserted her. Remy deserted her. Worst thing was she couldn't blame them. She had provoked her own isolation.

Self-pity reared its ugly head. Quickly, Rogue tried to dodge it by picking herself off the bed, flinging open the door to her room and heading out into the hallway for the bathroom. When she got in, she locked the door, turned on the shower, stripped off her clothes and found herself immersed in hot water. She closed her eyes.

Perhaps showers possessed magical healing powers, because almost immediately Rogue felt better in more levels than one. Her skin drank in the steam, as water tumbled onto the nape of her neck, the small of her back. She bent her head backwards, so that she could feel the hot elixir seep into her hair, massaging her scalp. Water cascaded down her face. She shuddered out a sigh of pleasure. She felt worries and fears wash away, leaving nothing but the sensation of clean water flowing down clean skin. After standing in the shower for what seemed like a blissful forever, she finally turned off the water and reluctantly stepped out of the stall. She noticed she had not brought her robe or anything to change into. Taking a clean towel off the bathroom rack, she wrapped her upper body with it, the towel falling barely over her butt. She turned on cold water in the sink and washed her face with it, shivering at the sudden contrast in temperature. She dabbed her face dry with another towel. She reached up with one hand and wiped the condensation off the glass of the bathroom mirror. She paused to look at her reflection.

Clean, healthy skin blushed pink from the hot water. Many hours of sleep rewarded her clear, bright eyes that sparkled like jewels. A bead of moisture dribbled down her forehead, bounced off her eyelashes and into the sink. Picking up a comb, Rogue ran it through her hair, gently pulling away at any tangles. Not once did she look away from her reflection. She felt beautiful. It was a feeling she had had before.

On a certain morning, with a white sweater and a giddy heart.

All of a sudden, with startling clarity, Rogue realized that this feeling was not coming from her. She blinked at her reflection, her thick eyelashes cutting through the waterlogged air.

*…Remy?*

*You real beautiful, chere.*

Rogue gasped at the sound of his voice, relief penetrating her deep. She couldn't speak any words. She couldn't project any thoughts. She couldn't convey any one emotion. She just stared at the girl in the mirror who Remy thought was so beautiful.

*Maybe you de one who's de angel, neh?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunning's Original Author's Note:  
> Harro~! You guys don't know how much FUN I had writing this particular chapter! Ahhhh~~~ don't you just love genetics? It's like the possibilities are soooo endless. Sometimes I think I'll just learn enough science to make science fiction. So here it is, the reason why Pyro went crazy or more correctly, brain-dead! And yes, Remy is getting doubly screwed because not only is he in a frickin' coma, but his body is poisoned with demutagen, but see, now Rogue doesn't have to feel so bad all the time! Because he might have died if she didn't suck him up completely! Yay, so I must confess. I wasn't entirely sure if I wanted to continue "Giddy," being my first fanfic and all, I had no idea what I was getting into. But after I figured out the theory behind the demutagen and the linked genes and all that jazz, I was like "That's it! I'm writin' this baby till the end!"
> 
> So it really means a lot to me that you guys understand the science! If you don't get it, if you have no idea what mitosis means, or if you find an error in my reasoning ... and that's entirely possibly, considering this is sci-fi as in "fiction," please ask! I'll be so happy to explain. Man, I hope you guys understood it though. I tried to make it comprehensive as possible! But it's hard to pin down all my twisted, warped thoughts into words. =P
> 
> Thank you for all the reviews but I'm so pooped that I'll answer them another day. Woah, this chapter was really long! Ahhh~~ but the science!


	15. That Night

"It was you," she whispered.

*What was?* he asked.

*The morning when Ah got up ta watch the sunrise. You were there, weren't you?*

He didn't respond, but the mirror did. She ran a hand through her wet hair. She was still in the bathroom, looking at her reflection as if it belonged to somebody else.

"Of course you were," she said quietly to herself. *Ah woke up and felt so… light. Like there was nothin' that could bring me down. Thought it was all because it was the first time in a long while Ah woke up without the voices in my head. But now, this…*

She reached up to touch the mirror. It was as if she was looking at herself through somebody else's eyes. And it made her nervous that this was how Remy might see her.

Beautiful.

*Gettin' a li'l vain, aren't we, chere?* he chuckled.

She frowned, and noticed how the way her lips pouted. It was rather cute. Closing her eyes, she turned away from the mirror in disgust.

*Stop it.* She projected firmly, trying desperately to sound serious and angry. But it was rather difficult, considering how flattered she was. The fact that she was so easily flattered made her sick, but right now, with Remy's voice and presence filling all the cold, vacant silence from before, she couldn't even feign anger. *How are ya doin' that, anyway?*

*Doin' what?* he asked innocently.

*Oh, ya know what,* she projected in frustration.

He laughed softly. *I t'ink it's de empathy. Guess it works similar to de way we talkin' back and forth right now.*

*Yeah? Well, Ah'd appreciate it if you'd stop it.*

*Okay, okay, here look at de mirror and we try dis again, non?*

She conceded and turned to the mirror again. She was simply aglow with divine beauty.

*Remy, Ah mean it!* she said, looking hurriedly down from her own reflection. She heard him laugh, and couldn't help but be relieved at hearing his merriment.

*Can't help it, chere. Y'beauty jus' overwhelms me,* he said in exaggerated rapture. *Quick, Rogue, look up!*

She did at the urgency in his voice.

*See, told you y'look cuter when ya blush.*   


Rogue felt her anger rise as she felt like throwing something at him. But of course, there was really nothing to throw at. Unless she hit her head with a blunt object, but that would just defeat the purpose. She took a deep breath. Moving away from the mirror, she sat on the edge of the bathtub. Maybe she could just change the subject.

She quickly realized, however, that any other subject was awkward, depressing and nerve-racking to bring up. Perhaps Remy knew that and tried to steer her away from what made her feel uncomfortable. She had completely shunned him earlier that day to some remote corner of her mind, and here he was, light and playful as always. It was as if he forgave her, even before she apologized. But she wasn't going to let him make it that easy for her.

*Hey, Remy?* she tried.

*Oui?*

She paused to take a breath. And bit her lip. *Ah'm sorry.*

*I know.*

*No, Ah don't mean just today in the dream, but Ah mean… for everythin'. Ah'm sorry that… ya know, about…* She was having a hard time projecting all the thoughts going through her. *Ah'm sorry you're stuck in here and… the coma… and the demutagen…*

*Did y'forget, chere? You saved my life,* he said lightly.

*Yeah… but what Ah mean is… Ah just want ya to know that…* The words just wouldn't come out. Why was she so useless at apologies?

*I know.* He said, his voice solemn. She heard and felt the understanding forgiveness. A silence passed between them. He gave her neither words nor feelings during it. She wondered what he was thinking. There were many things she wanted to ask him, but for the time being she wanted to just stop dealing with problems. Though she couldn't help wonder why he had not spoken up until now. She called out to him earlier, and at the time, she thought he was ignoring her, hurt by her. But now she wasn't too sure. Was he unable to hear her calls? And if he didn't, what kept him from hearing them?

*Rogue,* he said, finally breaking the silence.

*Yeah?*

*I need a favor.* He sounded serious and a little anxious. She realized she never heard this tone of voice before.

*What is it?* she asked.

*It's about Pyro.*

Rogue had forgotten that Remy and Pyro were on the same team. They were probably friends, for all she knew. She sat silently, waiting for him to continue. He didn't talk for awhile, making her wonder if he was even going to continue. But finally, she heard him take a breath of resignation and spoke, his voice sober and deliberate.

*Magneto sent me dat night t'spy on Hartwell Labs.*   


Rogue raised an eyebrow in surprise. Remy was offering her information she had not even asked for.

*De ol' man must have known dat dey were makin' de demutagen. De prototypes were being shipped off in trucks. Not only dat, but looked as if dey were in a rush t'leave all together. T'ought I could snatch a few b'fore dey skip town f'good…*

Blackness settled on an old alleyway that usually stayed quiet save for the occasional scurry of sewer rats. Yet tonight the cramped narrow road was witness to hastened activity. An armed guard was posted on each end of the alley, flanking two large trucks inconspicuously plain and unmarked. Men dressed in gas masks and coveralls silently loaded the trucks with large, impressive metal trunks tightly vacuum-sealed with 'Bio-Hazard' written in yellow and black lettering on the front. The work was done quietly, but an undercurrent of nervousness kept the men in an anxious rush. All the orders were whispered into discreetly placed mics and earpieces. And the only light that they worked by was a flickering old orange lamppost that minded its own business at the corner of the street. Their progress went relatively unnoticed. Except for one lone figure cloaked beneath the darkness of the midnight sky, crouched low on one of the decaying rooftops that faced the old street with the alleyways and the men at work.

Remy squinted down at the activity below. Two trucks. Total of eight men. One on each end of the alley. Two loading. One supervising. Three sniping on the rooftops. Correction. Two sniping on the rooftops.

The body of one of the snipers crumbled into an unconscious heap in front of Remy's feet. He relieved the man of his rifle and lightning-quick fingers flitted around the man's uniform. In a matter of seconds, Remy recovered the earpiece, mic, two machetes, three smoke grenades, a tazer weapon, an automatic pistol, a couple ammunition cases and an unopened pack of cigarettes. Slipping the earpiece on, he quietly discarded the rest of the items. The cigarettes he kept. Dragging the body with him, Remy melted back into the shadows.

A moment later, he stood behind the second sentry on the rooftop directly overlooking the loading precession. Not even the slightest noise betrayed his presence. Even the billowing tails of his long, brown duster were muted in the wind. Remy calmly counted the seconds until the sniper would look to his right, his eyes emitting a dull red glow as he scanned every gesture, every tick. The sniper shifted the weight of his gun and as predicted, slowly pivoted his sights, the laser sweeping to the right. Remy waited two beats and stepped out of the shadows. Suddenly a large clattering noise exploded right behind him, tearing up the silence of the night. Instantly, laser beams jumped across to where Remy stood. Or where he had stood.

"What was that?" the earpiece echoed. "Alpha sentry, you're the closest. Search the premises and report your status. Over."

The sniper moved from his position, quickly opting for an automatic pistol as he searched the rooftops. He kept the automatic ahead of him, his elbows locked and ready to shoot at anything that showed the slightest movement. He quickly spied behind the ventilators. Finding nothing, he finally ventured back to his original post. But almost as an afterthought, he turned and walked to the edge of the building, the side facing an empty alleyway and a vacated apartment building. He peered down.

Directly three feet below the sentry, Remy stood on the ledge of a windowsill that was mere inches in width. In the crook of his right arm, he held Pyro's head, his hand tightly clamped around Pyro's mouth. Remy braced himself against the window, flattening the side of his face against the cold plane. The sniper guard leaned farther off the edge, scrutinizing the darkness below with night vision goggles.   


Remy held his breath, so that the sentry would not discern the warm vapors disturbing the cold air. Pyro stood compliantly next to Remy, his neck throttled by Remy's forceful grip but tried not to make a movement. Copying Remy, he kept his back pressed onto the window behind him, but as he was fighting to keep balance on the narrow window ledge, a tiny pebble fell from the window ledge at the remote brush of his shoe. The pebble made a tinny clang as it fell onto the lid of an empty trashcan several stories below. Pyro clenched his eyes shut. Remy tensed as he prepared to grab the ledge above him and attack the guard, when he heard the radio static in his ear.

"It's nothing, maybe some rats," Alpha sentry reported. Spinning acutely on his heel, the guard returned to his post.

Pyro went limp in Remy's grip as the tension dropped a couple levels. Grabbing Pyro firmly in a headlock, Remy jumped off the ledge, onto the emergency fire ladders, and even with Pyro's added body weight, managed to hop down quietly until he had two firm feet on the ground. He shoved Pyro through an entryway of an old, deserted basement garage of the apartment building next to the warehouse. Once in, he took Pyro by the collar, pressed him roughly onto the wall and favored his teammate with a thick glare, his eyes flashing like the devil himself.

"You better have a damn good reason f'bein' here," he said in a menacing hiss, barely above a whisper.

"Every hero needs a sidekick, right? Well, mate, I'm here to cover your back," he wheezed through Remy's grip around his collar which was restricting his air intake. Remy released him. He exhaled loudly and grinned.

"Go home, Pyro. Do better wit'out y'help." Remy began to walk out. He needed to get this done as quickly as possible. Soon they would notice that one of their snipers was missing, and he didn't want to be around when that happened.

"Don't have much choice in the matter. Magneto sent me to keep an eye out for you," he said. "The old fart don't trust you much."

"An' he sent you? De man must be going senile," Remy said, loud enough for Pyro to hear. "Stay here." "And miss all the fun?" he pouted. "Don't think so, mate."

"Dis ain't no game, Homme. Dose guys up dere be armed to de teeth, and don' t'ink dey de type dat give a second t'ought before dey shoot."

"Well, neither am I, so show me the bloody action," Pyro said, cocking his arms as if they were guns and stretching his fingers that began to pop glowing embers.

"Quit dat. If you gon' follow me, I'd better not even hear y'breathing." Remy walked back out into the alleyway. Pyro followed.

"Cripes, it's cold. Going to freeze my bum," Pyro muttered miserably.

Remy shot him a look, his eyes like hellfire. "I hear one more t'ing from you, and you gon' find y'self down where it be a lot warmer… an' I ain't talking 'bout de land down under." Pyro rolled his eyes at the threat, but said nothing else.

Instead of the roofs, Remy decided to take down the guard that stood at the end of the alley. He glided softly in the darkness, until he got to the end of the alley. Peeking past the corner, he looked for the   


sentry but instead found that he was gone.

"Move out, men. Over," the order rang in Remy's ear. He cursed. They must have finished. "Gamma sentry. Report back to Gateway. Over."

Remy's thoughts zoomed around. Gamma sentry had not reported in, because Gamma was taking a nap next to the dumpster, courtesy of Gambit. Already he began to devise a change in plans, to get into the second truck and get the demutagen out without terrible fuss. He would just have to dress up in Gamma's clothes and show up to leave with the others. He would have to do it quickly before they got suspicious. Pyro was managing to keep up as Remy weaved in and out of the shadows to the corner where he dumped the body.

"Gamma sentry. Answer back. Over." Remy heard the urgency in the voice. He whipped off his trenchcoat and tossed it at Pyro. He squatted down to remove the man's uniform when suddenly, the night sky lit up and the sound of gunfire ripped through the air.

"Enemy sighted! Enemy sighted!"

Remy instantly flew up in ready stance, cards charged. Pyro dropped the trenchcoat and turned to look where Remy looked, his arms ablaze. It took a second to realize that the shots weren't aimed at them. The gunshots were directed at something else. Running to the end of the alley, they saw Sabretooth launch himself at a couple of the men, their bullets missing him.

"What de hell is he doin' here?"

"Guess I'm not too high on Magneto's trust list, either." "Geteway out! Go, go, go!"

Tires peeled out as the trucks hurtled out of the cramped alleyway, and turned into the streets. One pulled away fast, while the other screamed to get away when Sabretooth slammed his claws onto the back bumper and tossed it like a rag doll. The truck became slightly airborn as it crashed onto the sidewalk, managing to keep right side up. Sabretooth moved to rip out the driver's door, the driver's seat and the driver with it, when bullets tore at his back causing him to lurch forward. He turned angrily at the three gunmen behind him. They faltered when they saw their bullets had little effect on him. But they shot anyway. The engine of the truck choked and choked, until the third time it managed to start up and groaned off the sidewalk.

"Pyro, stay behind and help Sabretooth!"

"Where you headed off to?" Pyro yelled. But Remy had already bounded off after the truck, his bo-staff extended and using it as a pole-vault, he launched himself into the air and landed squarely on the truck.

The truck rattled. The driver cursed. Remy crawled up to the head of the truck, the wind tearing at his hair, skin, eyes. He reached down with an arm until his hand touched the glass of the passenger door window. The window creaked and whistled before it suddenly burst apart in a blast of pink light. Startled, the driver and the truck lurched onto the wrong side of traffic. An oncoming truck blared its horn in alarm. Charging a card, Remy hurled it at the back left tire and a millisecond later, the tire exploded, sending the truck back onto the right side of the road, tearing up the pavement as it skidded around in circles, until it tripped on the curb and smash into the grass beyond the shoulder.   


Having jumped off the truck before the tire blew, Remy ran to the wrecked truck, broke open the door and dragged out the body of the driver onto the street. After tossing the body a safe distance from the truck, he moved to the back and opened the doors. There were three chests inside with the Bio Hazard marker and a couple of other equipment, but Remy moved to the chests. They had all managed to remain closed, but were toppled over each other. Righting one, he unlatched it and pulled it open. Gas escaped in a loud hiss as the vacuum seal was broken. There was a thin vial holding some purple liquid, it was tightly wrapped in insulator plastic and encased in a thick, tinted glass chamber the size of a pop can. Cradling the chamber in his hand, he wondered what he should do with the rest, when distant noises reached him. He looked back.

The night sky was filled with red smoke.

Without a moment's hesitation, he hopped from the truck and ran back to where the warehouse was. It took him longer to get back, his return being on foot. But he felt the air become thicker and thicker as he drew closer and closer. Soon he was confronted with fire everywhere. The flames licked up and ate away at the street. The warehouse was already engulfed, and the buildings up the street from it soon caught the raging fire. Remy searched frantically for Pyro. Screams could be heard up ahead. He followed them with the feeling that all was doomed.

When he began to make out what he thought was the form of Pyro, Remy saw another person Pyro was holding onto. It was a girl. Pyro raised her struggling form above his head and heaved her into an alleyway.

"What de hell? Pyro!" Remy yelled, but it was useless. The firestorm muffled out all noise, and even if Pyro could hear him, he wasn't listening. Pyro's body began to limp and shake and jitter. And if things couldn't get worse, Remy saw Pyro trying to blow off his own leg. In a burst of speed, he cut through the heat and hit Pyro across the shoulders, throwing off Pyro's aim. Pyro, suddenly, reeled on him, aiming his arm at Remy. Remy didn't miss the crazed gleam in his eyes, his mouth jostling with saliva and sweat, and without any hesitation, Pyro shot at Remy. Remy dodged it just in the knick of time. But he soon realized that Pyro's aim was completely off. Bursts of hot flames rolled out, but in totally random directions. Remy evaded them easily, and finally brought out his bo-staff to deliver a quick blow to the chin.

Pyro went down. He balled up onto the ground. Remy got close, when Pyro righted and launched himself at Remy. Taken off guard, Remy went down, his body smashed by the weight of Pyro's body. With curious strength, Pyro held Remy down with one hand, his eyes flipping around in his sockets in every other direction but forward. Bringing his other arm, he spread out his fingers and pressed his palms hard onto Remy's face and laughed maniacally. Remy felt the hand grow hot and scalding against his face. Fighting to get Pyro off of him, the heat against his face bubbling hot, Remy charged the closest object at hand and swung it at Pyro. Glass exploded and Pyro flew off of him.

Remy struggled up to a sitting position and wiped the sweat and blood from his face, which had begun to course down his neck and upper body. But when he looked down, the blood running down his chest was purple. Remy looked at his hand. Purple everywhere.

He willed himself to stay calm. There were sirens coming from the distance. He needed to stay calm. Walking over to Pyro's form, he noticed blood gushing from the wound on his face. Remy bent down. Pyro was still breathing.

"What happened, John?" Remy asked in defeat, not really directing the question to Pyro. He brought his hand up against the wound on Pyro's face and putting pressure on it, he pushed the body up so he could   


carry it. When he bent down close to Pyro's head, he heard a rasping sound coming from Pyro's mouth. "…don't… trust… him … Sabert-t-t-t… don't…trusssss…"

Remy looked at Pyro, the way his eyes couldn't stay focused on anything, the way his tongue lolled out as he talked.

"Quiet, John, we get y'help," Remy said, not really sure where to take him to.

When Remy looked up from Pyro's body, he saw Sabretooth snarling down at the girl that Pyro had attacked earlier.

"Get up off de femme, Sabretooth!" Why was he attacking her?

"She's a mutant, Gambit! One of Xavier's kids, it ain't no coincidence she's here!" X-men? This girl with a backpack? What did she have to do with any of this? "Ain't de best time o'place for an inquisition!"

Why was Sabretooth blaming the X-men? What did they have to do with any of this? What did he know?

"We talk to her off de streets, hein?"

…don't trust him…

Remy shook his head. Pyro was raving mad. He shouldn't pay attention to anything that he was saying. Yet it had such an ominous ring to it that the paranoia kept on eating at him. What was Sabretooth doing here, anyway?

Suddenly, Sabretooth yelled in anguish as he threw the girl at Remy. Dropping Pyro's body, Remy caught her. Her shoulders stabbed him in the chest. He looked down at her. White streaks. He had seen her before.

Her body turned into his and as if in slow motion, he saw her place a hand on his chest. The last thing he saw was that slim hand, her clean, white skin pressed onto his chest, which he noted was no longer purple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunning's Original Author's Note:  
> Sorry, it took me so long to post this chapter. I had some midterms to get out of the way. Plus, I wasn't sure how to really write this chapter. I was originally going to have Remy explain the ordeal to Rogue through conversation. But decided against it. Eh. I like it better this way. =P  
> Yet again, I'm tired so I'll skip most of the review response. But in general, I'd just like to say I'm terribly happy that everybody understood the science. Whew.  
> But let me answer some specific questions:  
> Neurotic Temptress: About X-men #8, yeah, I like putting in pseudo-comic references in my writing.
> 
> I'm just a really big geek that way. Hey there was one in this chapter, too. Did you notice it?  
> AJ: Regulator genes are different from linked genes. Linkage only implies that two genes on the same chromosome segregate together during meiosis. And it's hard, but not impossible, to get recombination between them. But as you said, regulator genes involve a sequence that kinda gives the go signal for a buncha other genes to work. Linkage can happen between any two genes that are completely unrelated to each other, except for the fact that they're close neighbors on a chromosome. Hope that helps.  
> Beast is so wonderful, I love writing him. He can say anything and get away with it! He could say the world was flat and we'd believe him cuz he's the BEAST! Yeah! Okay. I must go to sleep. But hurrah~~! Lots of action in this chapter... and more Romance and angst comin' up. And then some more action. Yay~ Life's good, non?  
> Oh one more thing, as a clarification. At the end of this chapter, Gambit realizes that Rogue's hand on his chest was the last thing he saw. But we know that this was Rogue's first absorption of him (if you remember in chapter 2). And he kinda stumbles around until Rogue absorbs everything completely the second time around. I'm assuming that when the narrator (me... great, I'm referring myself to the third person) says that that's the last thing he saw, it's more like it's the last thing he can coherently remember seeing. Got it? Good. =)  
> Ciao~ my brilliant audience!


	16. Preparation

*After dat, I found m'self in de clinic wit de X-men, except I wasn't in m'body anymore,* Remy finished.

Rogue shivered. Whether it was from the cold or the chilling story that she had just heard, she wasn't sure.

Rogue took a moment to reflect, as the version of that night in Remy's perspective melded with the version in her own memory. After awhile, a thought of regret dawned upon her. *If I helped you fight Pyro then you wouldn't have been exposed to the demutagen. I could have saved you.*

*Y'did, chere. I ain't thrilled about de idea dat I'm stuck in y'mind and my real body's in a coma, but if Pyro's behavior dat night was because of de demutagen, den I'm glad dat y'absorbed me jus' in time.*

Rogue didn't say anything. Her mind replayed the night over and over again, each time with a different circumstance and ending. If Sabretooth wasn't there, then she could have brought down Pyro, and Remy wouldn't have accidentally charged the demutagen to keep Pyro from incinerating his face. If she could have left the library earlier, then maybe she could have seen how Pyro got exposed to the demutagen in the first place and prevented that. Or maybe if she had succeeded in absorbing Pyro, then she could have saved Pyro's life by putting him in a coma, and Remy wouldn't have had to fight him at all. Of course, she would have had to completely absorb Pyro in order to put him in a coma. And Rogue wasn't sure if she would have liked sharing the same mind with him. Although she reprimanded herself for having this thought, she was glad that it was Remy she absorbed and not Pyro.

*What you t'inkin'?* Remy asked when she stayed silent.

*Just how nice it'd be if we could just rewind life and give it another try,* Rogue said with a lackluster voice.

*Yeah, but what if y'ended screwin' t'ings up even more?*

*Then we rewind again and keep on doin' it till we're happy.*

*An' how could dat day have ended so dat you'da been happy, chere?*

She thought about his question. And realized she had no answer. Even if nothing happened that day, and she went straight home from the library, she wouldn't have been happy. Although she would have been relieved of all the heartache she was experiencing now, she wouldn't have known that things could have been worse. She would have still been sour and depressed about life in general. Rogue slowly began to understand why Remy was so unaffected by life's curveballs. He had the undying belief that there were worse fates in life than his. It was an admirable quality.

*De way I see it, instead of blamin' life f'bein' irreversible, we should be happy dat we don' have to relive our screw-ups. Don' dwell on de past, chere. Dere's not'ing dere dat's better den de present.*

Rogue smiled. *That's a pretty piece of wisdom. Since ya said it in my head, can Ah take credit for it?*

*Sure. S'long as you promise y'keep wearin' not'ing but dis towel.*

Rogue looked down, color seeping into her cheeks. Although she wanted to die of embarrassment, she   


couldn't help laughing. *No wonder Ah'm so cold.*

She got and stopped to pick up the clothes on the floor and ended up in front of her reflection again. Self-consciously, she pulled the towel around her closer and lightly tugged down at the hem so that it would cover more. She recognized the empathy now. Before she wasn't able to discern what she was feeling from what he was feeling, but she was getting a little more used to it. He thought she was pretty. She looked sternly at the mirror.

*Eyes to yourself, Cajun.*

*Dey are to m'self.*

Rogue groaned. But suddenly, she had an idea. *Hey Remy!* she directed at the mirror.

*Yeah?*

She closed her eyes and held up four fingers on her right hand. *How many fingers am Ah holdin'?*

*What?*

*Ah'm holdin' up a number with my hand, so what's the number?*

*Four.*

Rogue's heart sank. She kept her eyes closed, disappointed that her idea didn't work. But then Remy made the mistake of speaking again.

*Well, am I right?* he asked. Rogue smiled.

*Well, now, you'd know if you were able to see, am Ah correct?* Rogue opened her eyes and smiled sweetly at her reflection. *You can't see me unless Ah can see myself. So now one problem is solved. Ah'll just have to make sure Ah change without a mirror and shower with my eyes closed.*

If Rogue could have seen Remy at that moment, she would have seen his jaw gone slack. *You wouldn't.*

*Just watch me… but then again, Ah guess ya can't.*

Rogue walked out of the bathroom, a smile on her face as Remy complained inside of her head.

When she was back in her room, she noticed it was almost 5 am. She had not realized that time had gone by so fast. She changed into some comfortable clothing and lounged on her bed. She looked at the empty bed next to hers.

*Ah really screwed up with her, didn't Ah?* she asked Remy, thinking about the big fight she and Kitty had.

*She'll come around,* he reassured.

*Yeah, Ah guess,* Rogue sighed. She never really fought with Kitty before. Kitty didn't take offense easily, and she let Rogue's glares and insults roll off like water off the back. It was Kitty who had kept their friendship going for this long. Rogue had contributed nothing. She didn't realize how much she   


would miss her.

*You wan' we should wake her up an' apologize?*

*I don't think wakin' her up at 5 in the mornin' is goin' ta put me on her good side,* Rogue said. Then she remembered what she wanted to ask Remy. *Hey, Remy, what was that favor ya needed?*

*Like f'you to undress in front of de mirror.*

*No,* she said simply. *Anything else?*

He chuckled, but his mirth faded away from her. She felt gravity settle into him, as he got into a mode serious enough to discuss whatever he really wanted from her.

*I need to know what dey doing wit John. If he's being worked on by doctors under Magneto, not too sure if he be in safe hands.*

Rogue nodded. *Do we know where he is?*

*Most likely, he's at de base. But Rogue, y'do realize it gon' be a li'l dangerous? De Acolyte base don't like strangers much, especially if dey X-men.*

*Yeah, but it's not like Ah'm goin' in alone. Ah have you. And between what we can do in the Danger Room and you bein' the thief-and-spy-extraordinaire, Ah think we'll manage.*

*So den you'll do it?*

*Yes, Ah'll do it.*

*Den how 'bout we try to dig up some more information on Hartwell Labs while we at it? Don't really like stayin' in de dark about t'ings.*

*It must be drivin' you crazy to stay cramped in my mind, then, huh?*

*It ain't too bad, 'specially since I be around such pleasant company.*

Rogue smiled at the way his voice sounded when he said that. He sounded sincere. *Ya mean that?* she asked, half-joking, half-serious.

*Oui,* he stated. Rogue closed her eyes, satisfied with the simple answer.

*Chere.*

*Hmm?* She was getting rather attached to the title, but it was probably because it was Remy who was saying it.

*M'sure you probably don't hear dis much, so I t'ink I'll say it all de more.*

*Say what?*

*T'anks for absorbin' me.*

Rogue opened her eyes. Remy's words had bore through her heart and found the soft spot. It was a   


miracle that she didn't burst into tears. She sighed shakily. "You're welcome," she mouthed.

The sun rose at six. The mansion came alive with reluctant preparation for school. Rogue and Remy had stayed up all night devising a plan to penetrate the Acolyte base, Remy teaching the ropes of how the guards switched during the day. Rogue did not realize how organized the Acolytes were. Compared to the X-men, they worked like some top-secret government agency. Although the X-men underground base and super-computer Cerebro were not to be taken lightly, it was still just a school full of mutant kids. The Acolytes were a mismatched group of mercenaries and soldiers that were brought together to fight. No teenage angst, no dealing with mutant powers, no therapy sessions with Magneto. It was an army. She wondered how Remy was able to sustain such an optimistic demeanor.

They decided that going to school was the best option to get away during the middle of the day. So Rogue prepared for school, feeling as if she hadn't attended for months. She sat in front of the vanity mirror, applying her usual amounts of make-up. As she caked it on, she felt Remy's empathy of curious amusement reflect back at her.

*What?* she asked in annoyance.

*S'amazing dat y'still have skin left when y'take all dat make-up off.*

*My body. My choice.* Wrong choice of words.

*Hey, s'my body to in a way. An' what if I don' want t'wear make-up?*

Rogue snickered. *Betcha never thought there would come a day, when you needed to ask that question, huh?*

*Such a pity you go 'bout covering up a pretty face,* Remy said in a paternal way, she could almost hear the 'tsk, tsk' under his voice.

*What if Ah told you Ah was savin' it for you?* she teased slyly.

*Mais, guess I can't complain to dat.*

She smiled. She was getting downright flirtatious. Who would have thought it was possible? She had put on all her regular Gothic garbs on but kept in mind she would be doing some sneaking and fighting later in the day. So she chose to wear a tight black turtleneck over faded, black denim and featherweight boots rather than her heavy combats. She opted to skip most of the jewelry, but deciding that absolutely none would look suspicious, she wore a black leather cat collar with silver metal studs over the turtleneck. She finished off her outfit with the gloves that came with her X-uniform and a dark cotton jacket. Grabbing her backpack, she headed for the door, but stopped at the mirror to give herself a once-over.

*Ready to return to high school, Remy?*

*Non.*

Rogue laughed.

*But I mus' say, I'm likin' de look, chere.*   


*Really, now? Thought you didn't approve earlier.*

*Yeah, but who could say no to dis sex kitten look?*

*Sex kitten?*

*De collar. S'kinda kinky.*

She sighed. *You're one of a kind, Remy.*

*An' don't y'forget it, chere.*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunning's Original Author's Note:  
> Ahh~ another one of those uneventful chapters. But I sometimes like interjecting these "breather" chapters before I toss ya into a bunch of action. So here's some lighthearted Rogue and Remy banter. It's funner now, since Rogue is not as brooding.  
> Hmmm~~ I got some people confused about the action in the last chapter. So I tried to clarify it earlier in this one. But just in case, let me clarify again. Remy and Rogue do not know how Pyro got the demutagen into him. Remy retrieved the demutagen from the truck, and when he did, he noticed it was purple. When he returns back to the warehouse, Pyro has already somehow been exposed to the demutagen. And because he's going brain-dead, he ends up trying to kill Gambit. And although I would like to believe that not in a million years could the likes of Pyro ever be considered a match for Gambit, the demutagen causes a superhuman or in this case, supermutant powers. Much like how people under the influence of drugs can often possess superhuman strength. Plus, Gambit's OBVIOUSLY holding back, cuz he doesn't want to hurt Pyro. And in an effort to try to defend himself, Gambit accidentally charges the glass container of the demutagen and chucks it at Pyro's face. When the container breaks, the demutagen gets all over Gambit. So when he thinks he's wiping at his blood, he's actually wiping at the demutagen. Hence, purple everywhere. Not: Gambit has purple blood. Pyro goes down because of the exploding glass container at his face, and I'm betting that Pyro's not completely decapitated because Gambit did not fully charge the material before throwing it at him. When he warns Gambit about Sabertooth, we're not, at this point, sure if Pyro is delusional or if he's eeking out his last coherent energy to warn Gambit. Okay, I hope everyone's on the same wavelength now. For those of you who already got it, I'm sorry if this is insulting your intelligence. But this recap really helps me more than you guys probably.  
> Neurotic Temptress: Well, now I feel dorky mentioning it, but the comic-like scene was supposed to be when Rogue says sorry. And Remy's subsequent answers to her apology were both "I know." I forgot which # that was from, but it's the one where they visit the burial site for that one green ghosty thing that inhabited Remy's body in Antarctica. Remember that? Anyways~~ =P  
> Okay, then, look for the next chapter sometime this weekend. See yall next time~!


	17. Escape

Kitty had evaded her again. Making some excuse about meeting with one of her teachers, she left early with Jean and Kurt. Leaving Rogue to ride with Scott in his red convertible. On most days, she would have been thrilled and nervous. But ever since that night when she heard Scott so anxious to throw Remy out, it left a black mark on him. She knew he meant well. Scott was always looking out for the best interest of the team. He was self-proclaimed leader of the X-men, and he cared about his teammates. Yet he was such a rule-abider, always by the book, straight-laced to a fault. Maybe out of some weird, perverse logic, this was what she found attractive in him. He was this perfect stereotype of the all-American boy. Her interest in him had bordered on fascination. Or then again, maybe it was because he was nice to her and he didn't look half-bad. Who can guess the machinations of the heart?

She sat quietly in the passenger seat. A song cooed on the radio. She kept her eyes on the dash.

*Remy?* she asked after awhile. For some reason, whenever she was with somebody else, Remy tried not to talk. He would submerge himself in her mind and only reappear when she was by herself. The only time she could remember when he actually interjected was when she was arguing with Kitty.

*Can ya hear me?* She felt a twinge of anxiety hit her, afraid that she had somehow blocked him out. If only she knew more about this mental shielding power.

"Rogue, you okay?" Scott looked at her out of the corner of his eye. She looked at him quickly and smiled. "Yeah, just peachy."

"You don't look so well, should I opened the window? Let some fresh air in maybe?"

"No, that's alright. Ah'm good, really," she assured him. *Remy, why aren't ya answerin' me?*

Scott looked back on the road, quietly drumming his fingers on the steering wheel to the rhythm of the music.

*I take it dis boy ain't psychic.*

Rogue relaxed at the sound of Remy's voice drowning out the music. *What? Ya mean Scott? No, he's the guy who shoots lasers from his eyes.*

*Oh, right.*

*Why do you ask?*

*Mais, I t'ink whenever we talk like dis, telepaths can pick up on it.*

*Really? But I thought we had mental shielding?*

*Oui, but remember when I told you how I can't read y'thoughts?*

*Yeah.* How could she forget?

*Well, dat's because of de mental shielding we both have, non? An' I figure when we talk, dat mental shielding is a li'l compromised.*   


Rogue nodded slowly in understanding. *That's right. Ah forgot. Sometimes Jean can pick up on certain thoughts Ah have, even when she's not probin' my mind. And she told me she had no choice, because Ah projected the thoughts. That's how Ah got the idea to talk to ya like this in the first place.*

*Which one's Jean?*

*She's the tall redhead with the perfect skin and the perfect grades. She's Miss Perfect.* Rogue couldn't help the bitter sarcasm from edging into her voice. She really wanted to get along with Jean, but every time she looked at her, Rogue couldn't help but get the feeling she was so worthless compared to her.

*Get de feeling y'don't like her much.*

*We have our differences.*

*Like what?*

*Ah don't know. Everything. We're like oil and water. It just seems like the girl has it all, yet she's so unappreciative of it.*

*An' if you were in her shoes, you'd be appreciative of it?*

*Well, yeah. Ah mean she's pretty, athletic and popular and smart… Ah know Ah sound really immature, but Ah know what Ah'm talkin' about.*

Remy laughed. *Y'have absolutely no idea what y'talkin' about.*

*Well, Ah'm glad you can have a good laugh at my expense,* she said indignantly.

*Chere, chere, chere,* he said musically. *Look. Don't t'ink I need t'tell you how hot I t'ink you are, I t'ink I made dat point… well, every ot'er word I make dat point. An' I'm not too sure what y'idea of athletic is, but dat t'ing we did in de Danger Room wasn't just me. An' as f'bein' popular, y'take off dat make-up and wear a short skirt, an' you gon' have t'beat dem off wit a stick. An' sure, maybe she has better grades den you, but if I was a telepath, t'ink it'd be hard not t'sneak peeks at de answers every now and den. Dey have an unfair advantage if y'ask me.*

Rogue sat still. And she couldn't resist smiling. *Remy, Ah think Ah want ta kiss ya.*

*Ah-hah… so straight-up flattery is de key t'de girl's heart.* Rogue laughed softly.

"What's so funny?"

Rogue looked up, startled. She forgot she was in the car with Scott.

*Y'hair,* Remy said in the background. Rogue covered her mouth so the laughter wouldn't burst out. Now that Remy mentioned it, Scott had done something a little interesting with the gel this morning. He was always trying to do new things to impress Jean.

"Rogue, c'mon. What's so darn hilarious?"

"N-n-nothin'," she managed to say. "Just thought of somethin' silly, that's all."   


"What?"

"It's nothin'." She tried to cough away her laughter. "Okay, Rogue, spill it."

*Yeah, Rogue, spill it,* Remy said, doing a fair impression of Scott. Which didn't help Rogue's attempt to suppress the urge to laugh out loud.

"Tell me what's so funny! Don't make me turn this car around."

*'Kay, Dad,* Remy continued.

Rogue's shoulder shook as she finally released the laughter in melodic gasps.

She suddenly felt the car lurch to a stop. Scott threw it in park, and looked at her crossly. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's so funny."

*Uh-oh, I t'ink he means business,* Remy said in mock seriousness.

Rogue tried to think of something to say. She finally looked at Scott and saw his hair. She smiled. "Okay, but don't get mad," she started.

"Just hurry up and tell me," Scott said. "It's your hair."

*You a brave woman, chere.*

"My hair?" Scott moved a hand to touch it. "Is it that funny-looking?"

"Well, no… yes. It's just… not you. Tryin' ta impress Jean?" Rogue shocked herself by saying the last part. She saw Scott turn beet-red. Rogue usually kept Jean out of her conversations with Scott at all times. Mainly because she was jealous that Scott was completely in love with Jean, and would probably never feel the same way he did for her. But for some reason, Jean's name popped out as if it was the most natural thing to talk about.

"Is it that obvious?" Scott asked, coughing.

Rogue smiled, suddenly feeling really bad for him. "Look, Scott," she sighed. "If you want Jean to like you for who ya really are, then you don't have to go changin' yourself for her."

She looked up at his hair again. "Here," she said as she grabbed a water bottle from the cup-holder and took off a glove. Pouring some water onto her bare hand, she wet his bangs and ran her fingers through it a few times. She tilted her head to survey it. "Okay, it still looks funny, but you're just gonna have ta deal with it."

She wiped her hand on her jeans and put her glove back on, when suddenly Scott's hand went over hers. She looked up to find his eyes, behind the ruby quartz glasses, looking into hers, his expression full of concern.   


"Rogue, are you feeling okay?"

"Ah'm fine," she said a little unnerved.

"It's just, I never really got to ask you that after what happened that night with Gambit and then there was that time in the Danger Room…"

"Ah'm fine, Scott. Don't worry," she told him. "We better get ta school, doncha think?"

Scott paused, then nodded. Putting the car back in drive, he refocused his eyes back on the road, but they were full of thought. Rogue looked outside the passenger window, watching the scenery go by.

*Don't like de way he touched you. An' did you have t'fix his hair?* Rogue smiled. *You jealous, Remy?*

*What's dere to be jealous about?*

*Nothin'.*

*That's right. 'Sides, it's not like de man gets to take showers wit you.*

Rogue rolled her eyes, but she noticed in quiet amusement of how much a couple days with Remy had changed her.

*

*

*

Rogue couldn't remember when school was ever this fun. It seemed like Remy had a witty remark for everything. Several times she had received funny looks when she was caught laughing at something Remy said. If they thought she was crazy before, it was set in stone now. And who could blame them? Wasn't laughing and joking with the voice in your head the epitome of madness?

In no time, three class periods had passed and Rogue was faced with the first daunting task of the day. Skipping school. For some odd reason, Bayville High was very strict on its skipping policy. She did it before. Many times actually, but it got harder and harder as time went. Recently, the school hired a lot of security guards, and Principal Kelly himself went around the school during class to make sure there were no loiterers about.

*Mon dieu, dis place is worse den de Chateau d'If.*

They were stuck in the girls' bathroom. It was their second attempt to leave the building. The first time, she was written up a citation for walking around the halls without a hall pass and promptly sent back to her class. The second time, the vice principal spotted her, and she quickly went into the restroom to avoid him. He was probably more suspicious of her because of the way she looked too. Her gothic style always evoked to the administration that she was up to no good.

*Why do Ah have the feelin' that he's out there, waitin' for me to come out?*

*He probably is,* Remy muttered.   


She stood pacing in the bathroom, trying to think of a way to escape.

*Chere, I have an idea.*

*What?*

*Wash off y'make-up. An' maybe he won't notice it was you.*

*Think it'll work?*

*I don' know. Be nice if you had some change in clothes.*

Realizing that they were out of options, Rogue went to the sink and began to scrub off the make-up. She finally managed to get off all the black eye-liner and mascara with some soap. She patted her face dry with some paper towels, looking at her worried face in the mirror.

*Ah don't think this is gonna work, Remy.*

*Don' know f'sure till we try.*

She could almost taste failure as she reached for the handle of the bathroom door, when it suddenly swung forward as a girl came rushing in. Rogue jumped backwards in surprise.

"Jean?"

Jean looked up at Rogue. Her face was streaked with tears. "Rogue?" "Why are ya cryin'?"

"Oh… it's… n-nothing…" or so she said as a fresh set of tears came tumbling down. She sniffed loudly.

Rogue went into the stall and got some tissue paper for her.

"Thanks," she muttered as she took it from Rogue's hand. She blew her nose loudly and looked miserably at the tiles of the bathroom floor. Rogue wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. She really needed to get out of this bathroom, but then it would probably be inconsiderate of her to leave Jean like this. Jean sniffed again, her shoulders heaving up as she did so. A tear dropped down onto her white shirt and then another fell onto her blue sweater. Rogue's eyes wouldn't leave the blue sweater. She felt Remy's empathy reach her. She needed Jean's sweater.

"Ya wanna talk about it?" Rogue asked, trying to sound as consoling as possible.

Jean looked at Rogue. Then she turned her head away. "It's really stupid, Rogue. You're just going to laugh at me."

"Ah won't laugh at ya," Rogue said.

Jean paused, pursing her lips in consternation. "Duncan and I broke up." "Excuse me?"

"We broke up. Just now. I was talking to him and it just happened and…" Jean sniffed as new tears   


brimmed in her eyes.

"He dumped you?" Rogue asked.

Jean shook her head. "No, I dumped him." "Then why ya cryin'?"

"Because, well, he was completely agreeable about it. I mean, he didn't even try to stop me," she whined helplessly.

"Ain't that a good thing? Ah thought mutual break-ups are easier to deal with." "Well, yeah… but I wasn't really going to dump him."

Rogue blinked. "Ya lost me."

"See, I was getting these sneaking suspicions that he was cheating on me, and so I decided to confront him about it today… and well, he… he didn't even try to deny it," she paused to take a breath. "I thought they were just suspicions, you know? Didn't expect it to be actually true."

"So then ya dumped him."

"Well, what was I supposed to do? You should have heard him, Rogue. He wasn't even sorry," Jean's voice dropped, her head shaking side to side. Fine red locks swayed back and forth, clinging onto the moistness of her cheeks. Rogue found herself next to Jean and put an arm around her shoulders. She kept her arm there until Jean's eyes started to dry. Finally Jean let out an unamused snort of contempt.

"You know what the worst part is?" Jean asked, bitterly looking at the paper tissue that was fast losing shape in her hands.

"What?"

"I'm the one who dumped him, and I'm the only one who's torn up about it. I mean, look at me. Crying my eyes out over the fact that our relationship is over. And he's probably just relieved that he doesn't have to sneak around me anymore. Him and that stupid, French tart."

"What was that?" Rogue asked. Her arm fell off Jean's shoulder.

"Yeah, you heard me. He's been after some new foreign exchange student from Paris. What was her name? Amelie? Ergh! To think that we even watched that movie together!"

Rogue didn't know whether to be horrified by what she had wrought or to laugh hysterically at the sheer absurdity of the situation. She looked away from Jean, fascinated by the dripping faucets.

"I wish I could see her. And I wish she was fat, Rogue. Fat and pimply! Oh, but then that wouldn't do. That means Duncan's attracted to her for her inner beauty or whatever. Oh, okay I know! I wish she was gorgeous. And when he falls for her, she can dump him. Cruelly tear his heartstrings to shreds!"

Rogue stared at Jean, her mouth parted open. She never saw this side of Jean before. Rogue shook her head in awe. "Jean, Ah never thought ya had it in ya."   


"Huh?" Jean turned her eyes to Rogue, temporarily drawn out from her mad rant. "Ya know, a vengeful nature. An ugly side."

"Oh, Rogue, I know it's bad. But I'm so upset I don't know what to do."

"Well, don't stop on my account. Ah like ya better this way. Makes ya seem more human, ya know?" Jean tried to smile, but it came out as a frown.

"Why do ya like Duncan, anyway?" Rogue asked, genuinely curious to the answer.

"Oh I don't know. He's simple. And well, he's just pleasant to be around. And I know he's not the brightest guy, but he's sweet and he has a good heart. And don't tell the Professor or nothing, but sometimes I like to travel into his mind and just look at the world the way he looks at it. It's really refreshing because absolutely nothing is complicated."

"So ya basically liked him 'cause his mind was simple? Doesn't that mean he's just really, incredibly dumb?"

Jean thought and smiled. "Yeah, I guess so. Duncan's just a loveable idiot," she sighed, then looked sadly down at her hands.

"Loveable idiot or not, he cheated on you. And you deserve better than that. I always thought it was weird why you wasted your time on such a loser. You can afford to have higher standards, ya know?"

"You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"Jean, when do Ah ever say anythin' just to make ya feel better?"

Jean looked at Rogue blankly. "Why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden anyway?" "Beats me. Ah'm probably still tired from that Danger Room exercise."

Jean smiled. Then she looked curiously at Rogue. "You're not wearing any make-up," she finally noticed.

"Yeah, just can't seem ta keep it on these days," Rogue sighed. She suddenly remembered that she needed Jean's sweater. "Hey, Jean. Can Ah ask ya a favor?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Can ya loan me that sweater?"

Jean looked puzzled. "Sure… when do you need it?" "Now would be nice."

"Now? Why? What's the deal?"

"Well, Ah'm kinda in the process of skippin' class." "Rogue!"   


"Yeah, yeah, Ah know." "Where are you going?"

Rogue paused, unsure of how to explain to Jean that she was going to the base of the Acolytes to figure out what diabolical plans Magneto had in store for the demutagen-crazed Pyro. She crossed her arms and nervously chewed her lip, thanking her stars that she had developed mental shielding.

"Omigosh!" Jean gasped suddenly, putting a hand on Rogue's forearm. Realization dawned on Jean's face and the thought that Jean had read her mind startled Rogue. But then, Jean's expression melted into a sly smile. "You have a boyfriend, don't you?"

"What?" Rogue asked, pronouncing the word bluntly.

"Don't deny it, Rogue, I see it all over your face! You're in love!"

"Lady, Ah don't know what you're talkin' about," Rogue retorted, but for some reason, she couldn't help getting a little flushed when Jean accused her of being in love.

"Oh, this is too marvelous! Look at you! You're blushing!" "Ah am not!"

"Oh yes you are," Jean coolly tossed, forgetting all about her earlier crying fest. She ran her hand through her long, layered mane and shook her head lightly. "Of course! It all makes sense now. The way you snuck off in the morning all dressed up pretty in that white sweater. And the way you're cheerful enough to give me love advice. And oh! Tell me the truth, you're skipping school to meet this guy, aren't you?"

Rogue couldn't keep up with Jean's all new spin on things, but it seemed safer to let Jean believe that she was sneaking off to meet a guy, rather than to infiltrate an enemy base. So Rogue just stayed quiet, crossing her arms and looking at the redhead in annoyance. And of course, silence implied guilt in Jean's book.

"I knew it!" She clapped in delight. "So who's the guy?"

"Are you gonna let me borrow your sweater or not?" Rogue snapped. "Sure, sure, anything to aid you in your quest for love!" she gushed.

After a few minutes, Rogue not only had succeeded in getting Jean's fur-trimmed periwinkle-blue sweater, but also her matching headband and earrings as well. After forcing Rogue to put on some lip- gloss, Jean looked at Rogue with sparkling, proud eyes.

"Ah Rogue, you look so pretty! Whoever this guy is, he's one lucky fella," Jean winked. "Think Ah need to go now." Before Ah puke, Rogue finished in her mind.

"Okay, then, off you go!" Jean said maternally, dusting off the sweater excitedly. Rogue pulled away from Jean, signaling to her that that was quite enough.

"Bye." Rogue said evenly, raging to leave.   


Jean waved happily. "Good luck!"

Rogue exited the bathroom. Took one look at the vice principal and dully turned out of the hallway. He looked puzzled, wondering how many girls were actually in the bathroom.

*I don' know, chere, I like her,* Remy said, his voice colored with amusement.

*No. You. Don't.* Rogue's voice came out like ice, her menace so thick one could slice it with a knife.

*Okay, no, I don't,* Remy amended.

Rogue was quickly approaching a bad mood. She hated having such a hard time skipping school. She hated having to tolerate Jean's teasing. And most of all, she hated this dorky sweater. So she marched violently fast out of the back entrance of the school, around the football field and behind the bleachers, her eyes focused on the few yards that would mark her freedom. She was almost hoping that she would run into trouble at the Acolyte base, so that she could have something to pound on and relieve some stress. She tasted sweet relief as her hands latched onto the fence that was her last barrier out of school. She jumped up and grabbed on the top bar of the fence, then pulling up with her arms, she swung both her legs up to go across in one jump. But as she tried to clear the top, a hand grabbed at her ankle and pulled her back into the schoolyard. Rogue fell back from the height and landed straight into the waiting arms of the person who yanked her off.

Disoriented, Rogue stumbled out of the person's hold. When she turned around to see who had ambushed her, she found cool blue eyes, a wily smile and a slicked back silver mane of hair.

Pietro Maximoff.

*Mon dieu, I forgot dis kid goes to dis school.*

*Ya know Pietro?*

*Know him? I work f'his Dad. I practically babysit dis li'l prick.*

"Where you headed off to, Rogue?" he asked with a knowing smile. "Skipping school?" "Ah could ask you the same question," Rogue challenged.

"I'm not skipping. I'm in track. The coach lets me run wherever I want, being his star player and all." Rogue rolled her eyes.

"Almost didn't recognize you. New clothes, new hair, new jewelry." He poked his finger at the silver bobbles on her ear, immediately she flinched away.

"Don't touch me."

"Wouldn't dream of it. I mean we all know what happens if I do, right?"

Rogue crossed her arms, piercing Pietro with scornful eyes, which were all the more visible with all her hair pulled back from her face by Jean's headband. "What do ya want?" she exhaled impatiently.

"Just want to know why you're skipping school," he said, giving her a disarming smile.   


*Maybe now's a good time we test how we do outside of de Danger Room.*

*Ya really dislike him don't ya?*

*Can't handle de boy's cockiness an' his notion that he's irresistible to femmes.*

*Reminds me of somebody else Ah know,* Rogue teased.

*Oui, but dere's a difference. I AM irresistible to femmes,* Remy winked. Rogue smiled, wondering why she attracted all the self-assured guys.

"I can't believe it. Did you just smile at me?" he asked out loud, his interest peaked. Rogue rolled her eyes and turned back to the fence. She felt a gust of wind whip back her hair as Pietro interceded between her and the fence.

"Get out of my way," Rogue warned.

"Can't do that. Not until you tell me where you're going all dolled up."

She smiled caustically. "Ah'm goin' on a date. Skippin' school so Ah can get away from losers like you."

"I don't believe you," he said, eyeing her cheerful outfit dubiously.

"Ah don't care if ya believe me or not, now get out of my face before I kick your skinny little ass."

*You're swell, chere,* Remy sighed.

Pietro raised an eyebrow, and then moving aside, he let her pass. She grabbed the fence.

"Wait." His voice was sober. She looked behind her. Pietro returned her gaze, his expression serious. "Gambit. He's in the X-mansion, isn't he?"

Rogue froze, caught off guard that Pietro knew about that.

*Act like you don't know what he's talking about,* Remy's voice came calmly. "What are you talkin' about?" she asked, not sure what Remy had planned. "Don't lie to me. I know he's there."

*How d'you figure dat?* Remy prompted. "And how do you figure that?" Rogue voiced.

"I heard all about that night from Sabretooth. You were there. And the X-men were there."

*He's lying. Sabretooth don't talk t'dis kid. Hates him more den me.*

"Didn't know you and Sabretooth were so chummy," Rogue said sarcastically. "Ah guess the company ya keep does tell somethin' about ya."   


"I overheard him saying it to my father," Pietro replied defensively.

*So Magneto does know I'm wit de X-men. Try t'get him t'tell us why he's not coming for my body.* "Since you're so sure he's there, then how come your Daddy's not comin' back for his body?" "Body?" Pietro gasped. "So he IS dead."

Rogue's eyes widened a fraction to Pietro's reaction. *Remy, they think you're dead!*

*De T'ieves Guild…* Remy breathed, realization dawning on his voice.

*What?*

*De reason why Magneto's not claiming my body. He's going t'frame de X-men for doin' me in.*

*Ah don't get it!*

*I'm part of somet'ing called the T'ieves Guild. Magneto needed a t'ief and knowing dat I was a mutant, he commissioned m'services t'rough de organization. De t'ing is Magneto's bound by contract t'keep me safe. If I ever get killed in action, he's gon' have t'answer to de T'ieves Guild. But if he can frame de X-men for kidnap, murder and harboring a dead body, den mos' likely de T'ieves gon' deal with de X- men first. And by getting the T'ieves to go at it wit de X-men, Magneto gets two birds wit one stone.*

Rogue squinted, unsure of how to respond to the bombardment of new information. *Thieves Guild? Are you part of some kind of mafia?*

*Well, I guess you can call it somet'ing like dat. But mafia is a little broad. Dey into anyt'ing dat could make dem profit. But de Guild only associates wit acquiring rare art and artifacts f'de Black Market.*

*Then how is the Guild goin' to attack the X-men? Steal the furniture in the mansion?*

*Non, chere. Everyt'ing in dis world is run by money. Dat school y'Professor keeps can easily go down if dere was not'ing funding it. If T'ieves get rid o'de X-men's cash flow, den it be kind' hard t'keep de X-men goin'.*

Rogue suddenly realized how naïve she was in this world. She took her plush life at the mansion for granted. And with Irene as her caretaker before Professor Xavier, Rogue never really wondered about all the dollars and coins. She always assumed that money was not a big issue. But she could see how the X-men would suffer if their financial well-being was threatened.

"Hey,Rogue! Rogue!"

Rogue looked up to find Pietro holding her by her upper arm. He must have been trying to get her attention for awhile. She shrugged off his grasp.

*Chere, you gotta tell him I'm not dead. Can't give Magneto a chance t'get rid of de X-men de easy way.*

"He's not dead," Rogue said. "What?"   


"Gambit. He ain't dead. He's in a coma. The X-men are treating him." "Coma? How?"

"Ah'm busy. Ah have things to attend to." With this, Rogue turned back to the fence, but Pietro suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders and slammed her back against the fence. The metal links clinked and rattled loudly around them.

"There's something you're not telling me!" he hissed.

"Let go!" she yelled, struggling against the fence. But his hands tightly pinned her arms next to her side.

*De punk's gon' go down dis time, d'accord, chere?*

*Fine by me.*

She felt Remy open the gates to his powers… "MAXIMOFF! GET YOUR DIRTY HANDS OFF HER!"

Both Pietro and Rogue shot their heads to the side in surprise, and found Duncan screaming like a banshee and hurtling towards them in his football uniform.

"UNFF!"

All the speed that Pietro possessed could not save him from being pummeled by the quarterback straight into his side and sent sprawling several yards backwards. Duncan pounced on his prone form, cursing and pounding at him. Pietro flashed his head quickly from side to side, barely managing to evade the barrage of fists Duncan threw him.

While they were fighting, Rogue had managed to finally climb the indomitable fence and escape the campus of Bayville High School with her skin intact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunning's Original Author's Note:  
> I'm uploading this chapter on Sunday night. So technically I did update over the weekend as promised. But I'm sorry if you went up to look and it wasn't there sooner. The chapter ended up writing longer than I planned. But oh well, it's a longer chapter, right? Besides I had a lovely time writing in all the humor in this one. Or what was supposed to be humor. If you didn't find it funny, I'm sorry. I tried. But I found it funny, I was laughing while I was writing. I know, I'm a lil psycho.  
> Here's some clarification points:  
> Re: Pietro  
> I admit it. I don't have the fanfiction licensing to write this character. I don't know much about him, and I only watched one episode of EVO with him in it that basically gave me an impression that he was a cocky little son of a gun who likes to mack on girls. But I was surprised when the Rogue and Pietro pairing in fanfiction was so popular. I'm thinking I missed the episode where people got the idea that this hook-up was even possible. But then I thought about it, and I started associating Pietro with the X- men comics' Joseph. (Yunno, the younger version of Magneto?) And then I started to understand and see how they could be construed as a couple. But I never liked Joseph, frankly because he was boring. I think the only reason they put him in there was to yet again, cause a rift between Rogue and Gambit. Anyway, so don't none of you get excited that Pietro and Rogue might hook up, because they won't. But
> 
> don't cross out the possibility of Rogue and Duncan, the boy is growing on me... hahahaha  
> Re: The Thieves Guild  
> Not your backwater swamp guild in New Orleans, Louisiana. They're an internationally organized crime syndicate. Oooh~ I like how that phrase rolls off your tongue. We're talking armani suits, black- tinted Benzes, and goons named One-eyed Sal and Fat Tony. But as Remy explained, it's not mafia work, but just really hi-maintenence money-handling and con-artistry that they do. =) Hee~ Remy in a 3-pc. armani suit... paints a nice picture, non?  
> Okay, then, that's about it with clarifications. Next chapter, I promise there will be some action sequences.


	18. Deserted

Rogue did not exactly know what to expect from the Acolyte base. She followed Remy's directions to an old warehouse district in the outskirts of Bayville. From here, she was finally told to stop at a deserted hydroplane hangar. She crouched behind rusty fuel tanks set upon a barnacle-covered boating dock.

*So where is it?* Rogue asked.

*It's inside de hangar.*

*Swank,* Rogue said sarcastically.

*Don't be so spoiled, chere. We can't all live in a mansion now, can we?*

*Ah am not spoiled,* Rogue said huffily.

*Anyone ever tell you how cute y'sound when y'being self-righteous?*

*Ah am not bein' self-righteous!*

*Too adorable f'words, petite.*

*Oh, let's just get to work!*

She quietly crept next to the hangar door. It was a little past midday, her watch reading 1 pm. Absolutely nothing was astir. Taking a quick breath to prepare her nerves, she reached out for the door handle. Surprisingly, it opened immediately at her touch, the door creaking loudly as it did. She peeped in.

*Ya guys really live sparsely around here, doncha?* Rogue asked, when she saw nothing but an empty hangar, with a few boxes scattered about. She walked in, her footstep echoing off the walls and the tall ceiling. *Looks deserted, Remy.*

*Dat's odd. Dere's nobody watchin' de elevators.*

*Now what?*

*Get onto de elevator, but remember what I told y'about de cameras.*

*Right,* Rogue nodded. She kept her back flat on the far wall, shimmying silently under the cameras which Remy warned her earlier would be directly above her. She crept lightly, her feet carrying her along as if she weighed little less than a feather. Even her breathing seemed muted so that not even the remotest noise could betray her presence. She heard the tiny creaks of the door that she left ajar, the wind that rustled through and a faint drip, drip from a rain gutter outside. The whole world felt alive at her fingertips, even the air tangible to her movements.

*Is this a mutant power, too?* Rogue asked.

*What is?*

*I feel like I can hear everything. It's like all my senses are extra alert.*   


*Really? Guess I never noticed. See de power cord wit de red n'green buttons? Press de green one.*

She did, but when the button depressed, there was no sound that emitted anywhere near the walls that might indicate an elevator was coming up. Rogue waited, not knowing what else to do.

*Ah think the elevator's busted.*

*Looks like de power to de hangar is out, which means de cameras must be out too. Try t'pry de elevator doors open.*

Rogue tried wedging her fingers into the crack in the wall, which was the elevator door. But she was unsuccessful in getting anything to budge an inch.

*Any other options?* she asked after many failed attempts.

*What do y'have in y'pockets?*

She found some drying lint in her jeans, but Jean's sweater had a dollar in it and lipstick.

*Take de dollar, charge it a little and stick it between the crack in the doors.*

She first removed both her gloves. Then taking the bill between her fingers, she slid it into the crack and concentrated on exciting about half the electrons in the composition of the paper. The paper popped and whistled, as it glowed bright pink. She let go and quickly fell back two steps from the door. The paper made a small boom, most of the sound being absorbed by the heavy doors of the elevator, and left a small hole in the division of the doors, a foot in diameter. She pushed the doors apart, and they reluctantly slid back. She looked down into the shaft. It was dimly lit in red and smelled of salty seawater.

*Goin' down?* she asked.

*Oui. Beautifully done by de way. Couldn't have done it better m'self.*

*Merci,* she replied playfully, then leapt down into the shaft, grabbing the power cords of the elevator and wrapping a knee around it, slid down into the darkness.

*Which floor?*

*Don' matter. Don' t'ink anybody's home.*

*How do ya know?*

*No guards. Hangar's emptier dan usual. An' I t'ink we've just run out of cord.*

Rogue looked down and found that the elevator cord she was sliding down was cut off. She stopped when she found a set of doors in front of her, and swinging back and forth, managed to get enough momentum to jump onto the ledge of the door.

*Elevator's been snapped. Magneto made it protocol to shut down the systems and cut de elevator cords in case we got t'pack n'leave de base.*

*So what are we doin' here? Don't we need to find Pyro?* she asked as she stood balanced on the   


precarious edge of the elevator shaft.

*Don' know where else he be if he's not here. Heard from de Beast doctor dat Logan followed Sabretooth to an underground lab. T'ought maybe dis was it, but now I'm not too sure.*

*Maybe they jetted right after Pyro's surgery.*

*Maybe.*

*So now what?*

*So now we look f'clues. If dey did leave in a hurry, my guess is dey probably didn't do a good job covering all deir tracks.*

Rogue nodded. She took out Jean's lipstick, smeared it on the elevator door behind her and charged the greasy material. The bright glow wicked up the line of lipstick that she drew. Then she leapt off from the ledge and grabbed the elevator cord. The lipstick exploded the door open as she swung to the opposite wall of the shaft and kicking off the wall, she propelled herself backwards into the gaping hole that the explosion left. She landed neatly onto the linoleum floor in front of the elevator.

Remy whistled. *Impressive.*

*Ya sure it's not you doin' it?*

*No, I'm just letting you use m'powers. All de acrobatics I'm leavin' it up t'you f'now.*

*But you can kick in that natural agility power anytime, right?*

*Don' know if dat's a power, jus' somet'ing dat comes too natural f'me t'consciously control.*

*Then how'd you get so involved during the Danger Room session?*

*T'ink I took over y'body again wit'out realizing.*

*That would probably explain why Ah don't remember half the things Ah did in there,* Rogue said, trying hard to act unaffected by what Remy told her. She still didn't like the idea of anybody, even Remy, taking control of her body. She looked around, the whole room was bathed in red light. She curiously realized that the elevator shaft was darkly aglow in the same red light.

*Hey, Remy, is there a reason why Ah'm seein' everythin' in red?*

*It's m'night vision. Power's been cut off, remember? Usually see more red de darker it is, an' it be real dark in here right now.*

*Wonder if my eyes are glowin',* Rogue said curiously.

*You always glowin', chere.*

*Ya know, in this light, ya probably can't tell if Ah was blushin' at that remark,* Rogue joked.

*I can always tell if y'blushin'.*

*Must ya be so damn cocky?*   


*Aww, chere. I t'ought y'found dat charming.*

* 'Thought' is right,* Rogue coolly shot back, then paused in front of a heavy metallic door. *What's in here?*

*Magneto's study. Let's take a look-see, shall we?*

The door had no handles or knobs, just a flat metal plane. Rogue figured that Magneto probably didn't need to open metal doors the manual way. She pressed her palms onto the surface and tugged it open.

His study was very stark. Nothing lined the walls. No paintings or books or busts of stone. She was expecting décor of Professor Xavier's caliber, but found nothing but a large iron desk in the far end of the room and some metal cabinets behind it. Everything dully reflected back at her as if the whole room was created out of stainless steel.

She began at the desk, rummaging through the drawers for any clues. Most of them were empty. There were a few sheets of paper with some scribbling that she couldn't make out, an unopened box of pens and a half-eaten bagel. She looked at the bagel.

*Hmm… look at that. The man eats,* she said, her voice colored with amusement.

*Dat surprise you?*

*Actually, yes. He doesn't seem like the eatin' type.*

Remy chuckled, understanding what Rogue was saying. Magneto tried so hard to evoke the image that he was god-like. Something as banal as him eating a bagel seemed comically unfitting. *One time I found him dozing off. He tol' me he was meditating, but I t'ink de man jus' might sleep, too. Guess Magneto wears his tights one leg at a time like de rest of us.*

*Ya don't know that. The man can fly after all. He might wear it both legs at a time.*

*Mon dieu, I guess he is better dan us, chere.*

*Guess so,* Rogue smiled. Something caught her eye at the bottom of the drawer. She picked up a small metal gun. It was an odd shape with a spring-loaded compartment on top.

*It's a tranquilizer gun,* Remy informed her. *De syringe goes on top, an' de spring can shoot it out when y'pull de trigger.*

*Did ya ever see him use it?* she asked, turning and inspecting the small weapon.

*Non, didn' know he carried guns.*

*There's an inscription. 'SXMTech'? Does that sound familiar?*

*Can't say it does.*

After combing through the contents of the desk, the trash and the metal cabinets, they found nothing to enlighten them of the whereabouts of the rest of the Acolytes. Rogue did find a newspaper clipping with the headlines "Chemical Fire in Bayville." It was an article regarding the events with Pyro on   


Sunday night at Hartwell Labs. Realizing she never saw what happened in the aftermath of the police arriving that night, she quickly skimmed through the contents.

*Remy, it says here that the fire was most likely due to residue chemicals left in the lab,* Rogue projected perplexedly as her eyes perused the article. *It doesn't mention anything about mutants. Hartwell Labs actually is apologizing for the incident and paying fines to restore the area.*

*T'ink it's a cover-up by de labs?*

*Looks like it. But there were witnesses that night that saw Pyro, Ah saw them yellin' and runnin'. How come they're not speakin' up about it?*

*Y'guess is as good as mine.*

She tried leaving everything the way she found it, and finally, snuck out of the room. *Anywhere else?*

*Dere's a submarine dock below dis floor. But before we go searchin' dere, hook a right on dat corner.*

When she did, she found a long room with military-style barracks. Remy told her to stop at the third bed on the right and search the drawers on the small nightstand.

*So this is where ya crash, huh?* Rogue asked, looking at the small bunk.

*Supposedly. Only slept on it once, an' decided t'never sleep on't again.*

*So where do you sleep?*

*I have an apartment on the east side. You get a nice view o'de water an' de sunrise from m'bedroom window. I'll show you sometime. You'd like it.*

*Like Ah said, Remy, you're just full of surprises.* Rogue didn't admit it, but she couldn't help but hope for a day when Remy could show her the sunrise from his bedroom window. She could tell he didn't mean anything sexual by it. But she just wished that she could enjoy a sunrise with Remy. And not with Remy in her mind, but Remy in his own body. But that happy thought seemed too distant to even wish for.

*Remy, what am Ah supposed to be lookin' for? Ah see nothing but boxes of playin' cards.*

*Dat's what we here for. Take a couple of dem.*

*Why?* she questioned, but stuffed each of her pockets with a box of playing cards anyway.

*We jus' loadin' up on some weapons.*

*Playin' cards?*

*Dey light an' easy to charge many at a time. Dey also fly de farthest, and de glossy finish on de card gives jus' de right amount of lag before it blows up.*

*Ah'll take your word for it.*   


Rogue took out a few of the cards, her fingers expertly flipping through the stack. With a flick of a wrist, she selected 3 cards and tucked them underneath the sleeves of her sweater, slipping the rest in the back pocket of her jeans. Because he was feeding her his powers, she noticed she was picking up on his inclinations and tendencies rather rapidly. Suddenly, Rogue heard a noise. Her body tensed, it was coming closer. Footsteps.

With a thunderous bang, the door of the barracks flew open, ricocheting off the walls and shuddering at the sudden entrance. Startled beyond belief, Rogue willed her to stay calm and spotted a lumbering figure behind the doorframe. Instantly she flipped back and pulled three cards. The cards whined its characteristically high quivering note as it reacted to her touch, popping pink embers.

"Re-Remy… is that you…?"

Rogue jumped. She squinted, the redness of her vision brightened as she began to make out the lumbering form.

*Mon Dieu. Piotr,* Remy breathed. She uncharged the cards and quickly tucked them back in.

Piotr collapsed onto the doorway, panting heavily. Rogue flew to his side, propping him up by the arm. Feeling her small, slender hands, he tried to flinch away from her and stumblingly fell onto the floor instead.

"Who are you?" he rasped in a thick Russian accent, his eyes scanned around the darkness, unsure. Rogue realized he couldn't see her because it was dark. She noticed he was sweating profusely and having a hard time walking as if nursing many injuries, but she couldn't see any wounds.

*Rogue, you better tell him somet'ing,* Remy said, not hiding the concern in his voice. "Ah'm Rogue. Ah'm a friend of Remy's."

"What-what are you doing here?"

"Remy asked me to find some information about Pyro…" "You are lying… Re-Remy is dead."

"He ain't dead. You gotta believe me, but Remy's safe." "You-you m-must get out of here…"

"What happened here? Where are all of the Acolytes?"

"Attacked… by the demutagen… you-you m-must get out… they're coming…" "Who? Who's coming?"

"Coming… for me… get out… while you still can…" His voice gave out. He had been straining to use it, and now he had passed into a fit of coughing. He breathed heavily, not speaking anymore.

*Rogue, help Piotr up, we gon' have to get up an' out if what he saying is true.*

She put Piotr's arm around her neck and gruntingly tried to pull him up. He refused to help and pushed   


her away.

*Look, Piotr. Ah can't lift you on my own, so you're going ta have ta at least try ta help me, help you,* she tried lightheartedly.

He looked at her figure in the darkness, unsure of where to stare. He looked a little cross-eyed. "My name… how do you…?"

"Remy told me," Rogue said, then wondered how she was going to get out. Even if Piotr decided to put some effort into escaping, he was in no condition to climb out of elevator shafts. *Remy. We can't get out of here through the elevators. Not with Piotr.*

*Dere's a stairway t'rough Magneto's office dat goes down t'de submarine dock.*

*Do ya think there's any subs left to escape in?*

*If dere isn't, dere is an emergency stairwell that empties out into some sewers, an' we take dat exit.*

"Fantastic," she breathed, sarcasm drenched in it. Taking Piotr by the arm again, she heaved his weight onto her and tried getting up. Much to Rogue's relief, he finally rose to stand on his own will. He was struggling, but at least she didn't have to carry him. They made their way to Magneto's office. Piotr did not say anything. He just leaned onto Rogue as she moved cumbersomely around the complex, into Magneto's study and into the corner of the room.

*Dere's a control panel to open it.*

*Do you know the codes?*

*Non, just charge the wires and de door should give away.*

She ripped open the faceplate of the small metal control panel. And hooking her finger over the wires, she charged a few particles. The conduits sizzled open, and then a loud pop sent a shower of sparks to illuminate the darkness for a brief second. The wall whirred open, and there was a windy staircase downwards. The smell of sea salt was more concentrated now. Prompting Piotr to more forward, she took the stairs slowly, keeping in mind that Piotr could not see in the dark.

She heard the sound of water lapping up onto a surface as she finally saw the submarine dock. There were two mid-sized cranes in the tall room, and a dark rectangular pool of water below it. As she and Piotr ambled closer, she recognized something that looked like a heavy, sessile fish inside the pool.

*It's a sub. Quick, get Piotr into it,* Remy said hastily.

*Ah hope ya know how to drive one of these things.*

*Just hope de core's not busted.*

She didn't know enough about submarines to ask him what he meant by that. So briefly leaving Piotr on the dock, she waded into the pool and walked across a flat, adjacent fin of the submersible and pulled open the vault on top to load Piotr on. The submarine had a rather unique shape. It was cylindrical with a view port, but it had large fins on the side, making it almost look like a pregnant sea ray. There was enough room for maybe three to four people inside. Sloshing back out, she grabbed Piotr by the arm and pulled him up. He grunted and obliged to move. She was glad that she didn't have to convince him   


to get in.

As she helped him get into the submersible, a loud whirring took hold of the whole compound. Rogue's head snapped up at the cause to the noise. There was a large power generator above her. It was on. The lights in the room suddenly flickered on, and she screamed at the sudden brightness that invaded her vision. The red haze was ripped away as she saw nothing but explosions of bright spots. She blinked hard, her eyes tearing up, as it desperately tried to adjust to the abrupt light.

Then her sensitive ears picked up on the sound of guns loading. Almost immediately, she shoved Piotr's into the entrance port and as her eyes began to adjust, she jumped up, latching onto the crane above her, and kicked off the dock. The crane arm swung around in one pivotal motion as bullets tore through the room. The crane carried her away from their line of shot. She could now discern three men dressed in dark uniforms with facemasks. They each held heavy guns with red laser sights, the red rays bounced around her as she heard another set of bullets being aimed at her. She jumped off and dove into the pool. Bullets tore up the water around her, causing the water to rise and dance about. She submerged and swam under the submersible.

The three men moved, shifting one foot over the other as they surrounded the rectangular pool. The red laser of their guns undulated against the black of the water. One of the men closer to the submersible leaned in, his gun propped and ready. Peering in, he could only make out the dark wings of the submarine and the penetration of his red laser sight. He blinked. There were two red lights that bounced up at him suddenly. He wondered if his laser sights were reflecting up at him, when the two lights came up to the surface and a girl's head popped out and before he could pull the trigger, she grabbed his ankle, yanked him into the water and with one fluid motion, popped him in the chin with the base of her palm. His head jerked back as his teammates began to shoot at his direction in surprise. She flew out of the water, and a loud high-pitched whine reverberated off the walls. The men looked up at her elusive form, and in a pink flash, her arm cut across the air and three charged cards sliced across the distance between her and the floor directly below them. A beat of silence. Then a loud cracking boom came from below them, as the dock they were standing on shuddered and crumbled, and the men fell into the water below. Rogue landed on the dock, and in two bounds, she leapt off the dock, into the water and climbed into the submersible.

Bullets whipped the water around her as reinforcements arrived. But she closed the hatch and fell into the control deck. Her fingers danced around the panel efficiently, various lights blinked on and off. She felt the loud hum of the nuclear generator kick in and the pinging of the bullets as it ineffectively bounced off the hard metal of the sub. Suddenly, she felt the whole of the vehicle lurch and jerk, and she wondered if the bullets had hit something vital. Then the pool began to bubble up in frothy foam. The sub pulled away from the dock, and smoothly entered the dark abyss ahead and below.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunning's Original Author's Note:  
> Hi everyone. No, I didn't fall off the face of the planet. But I do wonder sometimes, that if some ill fate was to fall upon me, who would inform all my fanfiction readers? Anyway, just a whimsy.  
> Due to the unanimously disparaging remarks I got about my pairing of Rogue with Duncan, I shall restrain myself from letting the atrociously offending couple from happening. Sorry, Duncan, guess some people were just born to be an extra.  
> Thanks everybody who informed me that Pietro and Rogue was a fanfic only thing. I thought it was wierd how they don't seem to have that special spark in the cartoon, but they're so enraptured with each other in fanfiction. I personally like fanfics who have atleast one leg in the official comic/cartoon
> 
> story. But I gotta admit, sometimes fanfic is better than the actual storylines that the people at Marvel can think of. And just as a side note, i don't hate Pietro. But I guess I don't really like him either, so he's just a blah character for me. Scott, too. But I like Jean, frankly because she's fun to write. And how can you hate a girl who really wants to get along with Rogue, right? That's what I think, anyway.  
> I'm glad everybody thought the last chapter was funny. I'm thinking that's probably going to be the last chapter dedicated to humor only. But you never know. Plus the Rogue/Remy banter is distributed throughout, and that couple always has one or two funny things to say to each other.  
> Some clarification points for this chapter. The Acolyte base was completely made up by me. And if you're confused, you should be. We have Piotr woozy and telling Rogue that there's people after him and now the Acolytes have been exposed to the demutagen. How? We do not know. And who are those people with guns after Piotr? Again, we don't know. Okay, I know. But you don't. I'll try to keep things updated as best as I can. But finals are comin' up, and simply put, that's THE WEEK OF HELL. So please understand any shortcomings.  
> Thank you again for all the reviews! They really keep me pumped and rarin' for the next chapter. =) =)


	19. Busted

Once clear of the Acolyte's underwater base, the submersible suddenly shot out, careening through the deep waters and disturbing the silt of the river bed. Rogue held steadfast to the controls, beginning to comprehend the mechanics of the sub, which was more like an underwater jetliner than a submarine. But after a couple minutes, her gauges started to quiver and a beeping warning noise came from her panels.

*Okay, what's happenin'?* Rogue asked. She heard Remy curse, which probably wasn't a good sign.

*We gon' have t'dock her soon. De core's leaking. And if she run out of juice, we're stranded.*

*Yeah, but where the hell are we gonna dock? Not a lot of places around town that offers communal submarine parking.*

*Good question.*

*Wait… there's a narrow canal that leads into the lake beside the mansion. We could probably fit in, but… * Rogue chewed her lip, looking at her gauges.

*But, what?*

*Ah have no frickin' clue how to get there.*

*Dat's all right. Look at de large screen right above you, dat's de radar. Press de scroll down button, an' it'll show you de land array around us. Dat upper right body of water is probably de lake you talkin' about. But looks like de radar ain't picking up any inlet into de lake.*

*It shouldn't. Ah remember Wolverine tellin' me the Professor had that area desensitized or somethin', so it can't be picked up by sonar.*

*Why? He hiding gold in dat lake?*

*The lake has a hidden entrance to the basement of the X-men mansion, and Ah guess, well, we're his gold.*

*We?*

*The mutant kids.*

*Oh,* Remy said. She wasn't sure what he was thinking. Even she was a little surprised to admit that the Professor made every precautionary step to keep his X-men safe. And it felt strangely comforting to know that she was one of them. She would always have a sanctuary to take refuge in.

Suddenly, the whole cabin of the submersible urgently screamed a high-pitched beeping noise. Remy cursed again, louder this time.

*What now!* Rogue yelled, her fingers adeptly took it upon themselves to switch her topboard map back into radar.

*We've been locked onto. Someone's trying to take us down.*   


*So what do we do?*

*We outmaneuver 'em. Looks like deir sub's heavier den ours.*

*Yeah, but Ah bet THEY don't have a leaky core.*

*Shh. You can do dis, chere. I have faith in you. Just move when I say when.* The ringing got more urgent, as it upped its tempo.

*Here it comes…* Remy's voice drowned in the loud rings that were becoming one solid, grating siren. Rogue was almost afraid that she wouldn't hear him say when. She looked up at her radar, and she didn't hear Remy's voice, but she knew. She slammed onto a clutch, pulled a throttle and pressed a mysterious button, and soon it felt like their sub had turned into a torpedo. The controls vibrated ferociously in her tight fists, but she kept them there, her teeth clattering from the gyrations of the submersible. They tore through the water for what was only a few seconds but felt like a forever.

Suddenly, she felt the sub shudder as something choked. Flipping on an overhead switch and pumping a wheel, her arms maniacally flew around the control board. Until finally, she found herself sitting in the seat, maximally exhausted. Sometime during the middle of the frenzy, the ringing had stopped. She looked up at the radar. It bleeped peacefully, its needle sweeping in a lazy circular motion. She pivoted on her seat and looked out the scope. Their sub had surfaced.

*So are we safe, now?* she asked, unsure of what just ensued.

*For de time being. Sorry about taking over,* Remy's voice came tightly.

*Heh… yeah,* she offered lamely. She sat back into the seat, her body still tense, but then she couldn't help a sarcastic addendum. *Have faith in me, my butt.*

Remy laughed. But she heard the strain in it.

*Ah take it we're not in safe waters yet?*

*T'ink I recognized who our pursuers are.*

*Who?* Despite her exhaustion, she perked to attention.

*Dey had de same uniforms as de guards I saw at Hartwell Labs.*

She absorbed the information and fell into contemplation. The sub was quietly propelling towards the inlet of the mansion's lake, the top of its body skimming the surface of the water.

*Hey, Remy. Do ya think that maybe Hartwell Labs is after Piotr?*

He stayed quiet for a moment. *Yeah,* he replied. *Though I can't see why. But according to dat newspaper article we read, if Hartwell Labs was trying to keep dat night under wraps, den dey probably de one who was stealing de demutagen. And like I said, dose guards look de same as de ones chasin' us.*

*Yeah, but why would they steal from their own plant?*   


*Maybe, dey weren't stealing. Just moving de stuff.*

*But then why so hush-hush? And what's with the covert operational soldiers and the sudden rush to get on out of Bayville?*

Remy stopped, a disturbing thought coming upon him. *Chere, do you t'ink it's just coincidence dat Hartwell Labs deserted its plant in Bayville around de same time Magneto deserted his base?*

*What are you sayin'? That Magneto is somehow in league with Hartwell Labs? Why would Magneto support the production of demutagen? Ah mean isn't he all about mutagenating?*

*Yeah. I guess that wouldn't make sense. Plus, why would he kill off de people working f'him right?*

*Right,* Rogue answered tritely, but it seemed like they were trying to skirt the rather unsettling issue. Neither of them knew enough about Magneto to know what he was capable of. Or maybe it was that they knew him enough to know what he was capable of.

*

*

*

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Jubilee screamed, throttling Bobby by the collar. When she stopped, and looked upon him with anger that was popping at the seams, he smiled back.

"You sing that song one more time, and I. Kill. You," she threatened at his smiling face.

They were stuck, for what was presently 3 hours, 18 minutes, 25 seconds and counting, in monitor duty. A punishment doled out for a rather cruel practical joke implemented by the duo against Ray and Sam, involving their jock-straps and Icy-Hot. After the coup-de-grace, the two rolled with sadistic laughter and was immediately assigned to two months of cafeteria duty and monitor duty. They had agreed that the chaotic reaction that ensued was worth the punishment.

Despite their common love for a good practical joke, however, Bobby and Jubilee made an unsavory combination. If they were not busy torturing others, they were busy tormenting each other. And seeing as how Jubilee had lost her cool exterior, this particular round's victory was going to Bobby. Recently, he had unexpectedly stumbled upon the knowledge that Jubilee hated the movie, "The Sound of Music," with an uncommon passion. And seeing as how they were stuck in a small room watching monitors all day, he thought it would be nice if he brought in his favorite CD to help the time go by, which just conveniently happened to be the digitally re-mastered sountrack of "The Sound of Music" and remixes of the original songs by various artists. Needless to say, Jubilee was not amused. After the CD was disposed of in a dazzling array of fireworks, he had to resort to singing. And an hour of nonstop "Doe, a deer, a female deer," finally drove the girl to the edge.

Bobby smiled, despite the fact that he was getting no oxygen from Jubilee's stranglehold. "And… we're… comin' back… to… Do..oh… oh… oh…"

Her eyes became slits. "You suicidal fool…" she hissed.

Suddenly, a loud beeping noise indicated that Cerebro had detected an intruder around the premises. Immediately, the two looked at the monitors. Jubilee let go of Bobby, and he couldn't resist saying the   


old maxim, "saved by the bell."

She shot him a look, indicating that his punishment was merely delayed, not forgotten.

*Jubilee, Bobby, where is Cerebro indicating?* the Professor's voice came out telepathically, a moment after the computer's alarms went off.

"It's the lake. It's like some kind of weird alien ship…" Jubilee trailed, looking at the image the computer was feeding her.

"No, it's more like a really tiny submarine with wings," Bobby corrected. She shot him a look, and he had the sense enough to look scared.

"Wait, it's opening!" Jubilee yelled.

They had their eyes glued to Cerebro's monitor, each of them half-expecting an extraterrestrial life form to rear its ugly head. What they got was something quite unexpected.

"ROGUE?" they both yelled in unbelieving unison.

Her hair was plastered onto the side of her face, and she was soaked through with water from head to toe. But as she popped a weary head from the hatch, she waved for the camera.

*

*

*

Rogue was in a heap of trouble. She had broken into the Acolyte base, stolen a submersible from their dock, and brought an Acolyte through the X-men's secret entrance. Of course, there were also the added misdemeanors of skipping school, lying about her intentions and destroying Jean's sweater. Her punishment was pending, however, when the immediate attention went to Piotr. He had fallen unconscious during the chase, and Logan and Mr. McCoy had one hell of a time getting him out of the small entrance port of the submarine.

In a few hours, Piotr was situated in the room of the Med Bay across from Remy's, where Rogue had been occupying only a day ago. Wires were connected to him in all the appropriate places. Unlike Remy, however, his brain waves were erratic and came out in sequential pulses. After taking a blood sample from his arm, and running a DNA analysis, Mr. McCoy confirmed that Piotr also tested positive for the demutagen.

"First, Pyro, then Gambit, now Colossus," Scott said quietly. "They must have really pissed somebody off."

They were in the Professor's study. Everybody was present, including Rogue who for the most part was engaged in her own thoughts. Remy didn't speak, most likely because the Professor and Jean were in the room. Rogue wondered if she should just tell them that she could talk to him back and forth. Maybe they could help in solving the mystery behind Magneto's disappearance and the attack of Hartwell Labs. But for some reason, she didn't want to betray Remy's existence in her mind. If he preferred to keep himself unknown, then she wasn't going to expose him.   


"How come Colossus didn't go crazy like Pyro did?" Jean asked.

"The excised portion of his mutant gene was linked to a gene different from what Pyro's was linked to," Mr. McCoy answered. He had gone through explaining the nature of how the demutagen worked. Considering some of the kids were only in junior high, and Jamie, only in elementary school, Mr. McCoy had to bring in diagrams and plastic models to explain the concept. Even then, most of them looked like they still didn't understand.

"What is his mutant gene linked to zen?" Kurt asked.

"It's hard to sequence genes, not all of the human genome has been databased. And mutants are a whole other species, so it's hard to pinpoint exactly what has been affected in him. But my guess is whatever the demutagen has cut out, it has minorly affected his motor skills."

"Minorly?" Rogue spoke up after a long while. She perceived the nervous glances that followed her and chose to ignore them. "He could barely walk or breathe."

"Yes, but unfortunately, I believe there was something else that has been completely compromised, that makes the loss of his motor skills look minor in comparison."

"What?" Rogue asked.

"There was a sequence cut out from the right end of his mutant gene. And I believe it was a portion of the opsin gene."

"The opsin gene?" Scott asked, the word sounded familiar to him.

"Yes, Scott. It's the gene responsible for sight. Although, I won't be fully sure until he wakes up, I believe he might have been rendered blind."

A disturbed murmur went through the group. Rogue's heart rate quickened, she felt sick and she realized that Remy had heard it too. The Professor raised his hand to quiet their hushed fears.

"I know this is a lot to take, but these are the dangers that face mutantkind. We must be brave and take precautions to stop this demutagen from spreading any further. I have tried to contact Magneto."

Rogue felt a sizzle go down her spine.

"He has not replied, but I believe that whatever concerns the Acolytes, concerns him, as well as the X- men. As mutants, all of our lives are at risk. That is why it is important to band together now to tackle this problem as a team."

The Professor didn't mention or even look at her when he said the latter part, but Rogue felt the admonition was directed at her. She kept silent. She felt Kitty's eyes on her from across the room.

"I will all keep you informed as soon as we can gather some more information. Until then, try to focus on your day-to-day activities, as difficult as it might be. You may leave," the Professor finished. Dumbfounded, the students got up to exit. "Rogue, please stay behind."

Expecting the request, Rogue had not even bothered to move. The students filed out. Rahne and Amara each shot Rogue a nervous glance and hustled out the door in hushed whispers. Ray and Sam gave her an awkward smile and sauntered out in an even more awkward fashion, as if they each had a major   


wedgie to pick. Jubilee and Bobby walked out together, Bobby in front of Jubilee, her hand lightly nudging him by the small of his back as she led him out. He passed Rogue with an almost desperate glint in his eye. Jubilee gave her the thumbs-up sign. Jamie trailed Kitty, and Kitty attempted to look at Rogue but her eyes stopped at Rogue's feet and proceeded out the door. Jean walked out briskly, pointedly avoiding eye-contact. Whatever progress their relationship had built was now destroyed. Rogue had used the girl, plain and simple. She could tell Scott didn't want to leave, but he did, reluctantly. As he passed her, though, she was surprised when he briefly placed a hand on her shoulder and commenced to exit. The door clicked behind him.

Rogue was alone with the adults. Ororo sat upright in an armchair, her hands folded gracefully in her lap, and her eyes closed in composed thought. Logan stood lackadaisically behind her, his arms folded in front of him and his back leaning on the wall. Mr. McCoy calmly packed away his plastic DNA model. The Professor looked at his desk, his fingers steepled in patience and his forehead knitted in contemplation.

She looked frozen at the carpet. This was scarier than the psyches, the demutagen and the Hartwell Lab co-op men combined.

"Rogue," the Professor finally said, breaking the terrible silence. "I know you have been going through some turbulent changes lately. But what you attempted today was completely out-of-line. I want to know what made you think that going to the Acolyte base was going to make your situation any easier."

"Professor, Ah know Ah was out-of-line, but Ah ain't the type who can just sit and go to school, actin' like everythin's just fine and dandy when Ah see people goin' crazy and fallin' into comas."

"I understand that, Rogue. But why did you feel there was a need for secrecy? Did you not think that we would not understand your concerns regarding the demutagen?"

"No, Ah knew you'd understand. It's just Ah knew things wouldn't be done my way."

"Rogue, things cannot be always carried on in your own way. That type of reckless behavior can get you killed. The whole purpose of the Danger Room sessions is just that, it's to get you in the practice of working as a team."

"Ah know. Ah screwed up, okay?" Rogue sighed. She freely admitted her guilt in hopes that the meeting could be over with, but it seemed the Professor had other things in mind. The rest of the adults stayed quiet.

"I have a concern, Rogue, which I have voiced earlier to you. It is about Gambit. More specifically, it is about Gambit's psyche in you."

Rogue kept her breathing and her composure meticulously still.

"Although you have told me that you cannot perceive his psyche, I think that it would be best if you would let me probe your mind. His presence might have seeped into your subconscience. In which case, he might be affecting your decision without you being aware of it."

"The decisions Ah made today were mine and mine alone," she stated firmly.

"Yes, but if he is a latent psyche, absorbed completely, I might add, with possible mental-shielding powers, he might have a control over you that you cannot ascertain. I won't do anything without your   


permission, but I want you to consider this alternative. Until I am able to see for myself that your mental faculties are sound, I cannot allow you to leave this mansion, not even for school."

"You're puttin' me under house arrest?" Rogue got up.

"Only until you give me permission to probe your mind," the Professor stated.

"Permission? Why do you even bother askin' for permission if you're gonna make it an ultimatum?" Rogue scoffed.

"I want you to be ready when I enter, Rogue. And not only that, but your recent development of a mental shield will require you to consciously lift it in order for me to enter. I need your cooperation on this one, Rogue. I need your help."

His tone was pleading. Rogue forced herself to calm down. Maybe it was about time to let the Professor know that Remy could talk to her.

"Can… can Ah think about it?" Rogue asked, quieted.

"Of course. I have promised Mr. McCoy to allow him to give you a physical before I enter. It's nothing new, Rogue. It will be just like therapy," the Professor reassured.

Rogue remembered therapy, not too pleasantly. It seemed a forever ago when she had problems with the psyches yelling at her, noise so loud that sometimes, it was unbearably painful. The pain reached its peak when the Professor's mind penetrated hers, and the voices would protest insufferably. But it would all quiet down in a couple seconds, and her mind would exhale, but she knew, fearfully awaited, the moment that he left and they would attack her more vengeful than ever.

Rogue was afraid.

She was afraid that if she let the Professor in, he might find the problem in her mind and cure it. That he might fix whatever the abnormality that was keeping the voices quiet. And she knew this problem had to be Remy. She was afraid of what might happen if the Professor entered. What would happen to Remy? What would happen to her? What would happen to the Professor? She was deathly afraid of what the consequences could be.

She felt a gentle, warm hand on her back. She looked up to find Mr. McCoy. He ushered her out of the room, and she let him lead her to the Med Bay for her physical.

**Sunning's Original Author's Note (too long to be added as end note):**

** Hello~

I think I'll make this review a personal one, considering I haven't done that in awhile.

Lisboa Miraflores/Jinsei Ichido/Jesse Delta/Calisto Mercy/Mergan Runyun: I'd remember you with any name, as long as you keep that super-freakiness about you... yunno, the poetic english kind. I'd pick you out of a line-up, if I knew what you looked like. =) Thanks for the compliments. And yeah, I do have a lot of reviews, don't I? But I think 30% of it was from you. So it's not like I have 300 different readers. That'd be kinda intimidating. =P

Owl-Eyed Athena: You played catch-up didn't you? I could see your progressive reviews from like chapter 2 to 8 to 18 in like a matter of a few days. Whew~~ lots of words, huh? Wow, can't believe I   


wrote so much.

Sash: Thanks for loving my fic. I'm glad there are people who love it as much as me. I'm so enraptured by this story. And like my whole life is practically revolving around it, which is really sad, but oh well.

Lacey: Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to read and also write a review! Did you know, out of all the reviewers, I think you probably use the most correct grammar? Uh oh, now I jinxed it. Watch your next review be full of grammatical errors! =D

roguestar: I'm thinking you're a big Rogue fan like moi (figured from your name... er... I mean I'm psychic), so I'm glad you're loving the fic. It's good to throw her in the limelight, she's a really cool character to play with. But then, she's all the more intriguing because she has the wits to snag the hottest guy in all of comicdom!

Christy S.: I'm glad you like the fact that I threw Piotr in, but now I've gone and made him sick and blind. Sorry. But it's kinda exhilirating that I can just make Piotr blind like that. Take this chapter, for instance, I have no frickin' clue if the X-men ever had an underground entrance/exit into the lake that's supposedly connected a sonar-desensitized canal. But they should! And, HEY! *snaps fingers* Now, they do. Ahhhh~~ the POWER!

Goldylokz: Glad you're along for the ride, babe.

vagabond: You are SUCH an enthusiastic reviewer! Thanks for keeping me energized. Rogue Elf: Like the name. Tried updating quickly. Tootle-loo~~

Dark Void: Yeah, bad guys can be really cool, as long as they have a viable reason for being bad. But even those that are just plain EVIL for absolutely no reason are more fascinating than those that are just plain good, right? And I'm flattered that my ff doesn't fall into the "reading-to-kill-time" category.

The Flying Pen: I agree with you. The Rogue/Duncan is easy material to work with. It's seriously comedy that writes itself. And don't worry, I plan on milking that reservoir till it's dry. I'm good at beating on a dead horse. But hopefully, I'll try not to get carried away, I'll leave it up to you to stop me if I've gone too far.

jebrylla: Oooh you betcha the plot's gettin' thicker. I'll actually give you a hint. The climax is coming pretty soon!

sujakata: You were right about Piotr and the demutagen. Way to stay on the ball!

bunny angel: You know now that you mention it. There are a lot of people who don't update anymore. That is kinda scary. should hire people to check on un-updating clients, and see if they're still alive and kicking. No, nevermind, don't want them at my door. So you wanted Rogue to get hit, huh? I'll give you Piotr-torture for now. And well, Rogue's torture's coming up, and I hope you have the nerves to handle it. Cuz I don't! Oh, and I'm glad you were touched by the Rogue and Remy and his apartment and sunrise thing. I wrote that part in, and I almost got teary-eyed because it really did feel far-away. So you can say Rogue's frustration and wistfulness to share a normal, romantic moment with Remy was actually my frustration to write one!

TrunksGirl: Darn it! So there was another person who wrote about Rogue's love interest in her head   


plotline? And here I thought I was being mega-original. Pheh =P

ChaosCat: Yeah, I definitely agree Rogue being a Goth is very cool. And I'm not planning on to get her out. But I like the way you worded it: it fits her personality. And I think, a fashion change is plausible if you have a personality change. But I don't see Rogue falling out of her self-hate, half-suicidal attitude any time soon. That's kinda why I like her.

Mournful*Aria: That's okay if you don't like Jean. As long as you like Rogue, I think this story will suit you fine.

SadYear: Don't worry. Rogue and Duncan is just an avenue I can channel my slapstick comedy through. They won't really hook-up. Man, poor Remy, if they do.

AJ: I'm glad the gene description helped you out! Keep reading~ hopefully there's more genetic goodness to come!

Kanshisha Tenshi san: Thanks for the support!

Tenshi Kanashii san: Are you related to Kanshisha Tenshi? Or is it just a coincidinky that your names are so similar?

Neurotic Temptress: Can't have them spouting off such cliche lines now, can we? I don't think I can imagine Remy saying, "You wanna swim wit de fishes?" Okay, well, I guess I can. But it's not a very good threat, I think.

Chiru: Yay~! I'm glad I got Pietro down okay. And I'm glad you like the story even though you're not those die-hard Rogue/Remy fans. Because I'm hoping that means my story can stand on its own, without relying too much on the popularity of its main characters. By the way, thanks for fighting the chronic laziness to write the review. I really appreciate it~ =)

Azzandra: Duncan's all about the entrance, I think. After that, well, he's not too substantial and I have to quickly usher him out of the scene. =)

Ambrosia: I'm typing you in right at the last moment! For some odd reason, I updated last night and when I went to check up on it today, it said the chapter was non-existing or something or other. *sigh* Anyway, wow, I never really thought of the possibility of Rogue and Pietro being related, and especially since you point out Rogue's white stripes. Ahh~~ white stripes. Do you know that band? Man, I'm in love with the "Seven Nation Army" song. Woops... where was I? Oh yes, the Pietro and Rogue, brother/sister thing. Oh, but that's gonna crush all the Pietro/Rogue fans, unless that is if you're open to the idea of incest. Eeeuuu~ Honestly, though, I think I don't like Pietro because he's a character created by EVO. I don't like Wanda either, because original X-Men never had Wanda with her wierd Hex-factor mutation. And I hated Evan, my question is how come they couldn't just bring in Marrow? And now I'm probably asking for too much, but have you noticed how ugly the cartoon characters are? All of them have that wierd upturned nose thing going on. And don't get me started on how hideous Gambit is. Anyway, I really like the concept of EVO, but I don't really like the cartoon itself. I guess I'm just too attached to the original cast and crew. And holy cow, I know what you're talking about with how this fic is becoming a frickin' novel. And you think reading it is bad, typing it takes like hours!

Which reminds me...   


TO ALL MY READERS AND FELLOW WRITERS: If you haven't already, go buy yourself some houseplants, if you're bad with living things (like me) get a cactus, and put them around your computer. They eat up all the harmful rays your computer spouts forth. And that way, we won't develop brain tumors the size of Texas. I have genetic proof this happens. (Not the Texas part, but the cancer part.) If you don't believe me, I'll get the Beast to say it in an upcoming chapter.

Okay, I'm gonna go now. But thanks for all of yall for reviewing. And if I forgot to shout-out to anyone. I'm very terribly sorry. And I'll try to catch you next round.

Oh, and to Ishandahalf, I know you're not gonna be able to read this until you get back from your trip to Europe (lucky stiff) but just wanna say I'm gonna miss your vivacious reviews while your away. Come back soon! Hey, wait a minute, doesn't Europe have the internet?

Well, catch yall later!


	20. Misunderstood

Rogue sat quietly on one of the cots in the Med Bay. She wore a pair of loose cotton training pants and a tank top with her hair swept up into a high ponytail. Her left arm was decorated with a couple bandages. Apparently she drank a lot of unsanitary water, and Mr. McCoy insisted he give her a couple antibiotic shots. She looked down at her hands, her eyes clouded with worry.

Remy didn't answer her. She did not project anything towards him, until she was in a safe distance away from the Professor. She tried talking to him once she got to the Med Bay, but he didn't reply back. After awhile, she gave up, frustrated and frightened. She didn't know what she was going to do. If she let the Professor probe her mind, he would most likely find Remy. Then what would happen? Would the Professor try to get rid of him, just like how he tries to erase the psyches?

She thought of confessing to the Professor about her ability to talk to Remy and maybe, she would also tell him how she couldn't hear the voices anymore. But, then, Rogue was also unsure how the Professor would react to her keeping that from him. Would he be angry? She knew that he would be hurt. And maybe she didn't want to see the Professor get hurt, get his disapproval and lose his trust. But perhaps, it was a little too late for that.

Mr. McCoy had excused himself after the physical, and Rogue guessed that the Professor was probably going to come down to the Med Bay himself to convince Rogue to get her mind probed. Rogue realized that she would probably end up letting him. But something inside of her rebelled against the idea. Not rebelled, but recoiled. It was a cold, slimy fear in the pit of her stomach that told her not to let him in. But then, she was always uneasy about the therapy sessions with the Professor. Sometimes, she wished that she didn't even have to do it. He helped quiet the voices, but the process of letting him in was so painful that she, more than once, thought that the few days of peace were not worth the excruciating seconds of pain. Of course, if the Professor did not systematically come into her mind and sort the psyches out, there was that risk of the psyches taking over her body again.

Rogue got up. The Med Bay was semi-lit with huddled lamps, bright computer screensavers and that blue hallway light. She headed towards that direction. Through one of the glass doors, she could make out Piotr's sleeping form on the bed. She could see the irregular rise and fall of his chest. Rogue wondered if Piotr knew he was blind. She remembered supporting him while escaping the Acolyte complex. It was dark, so she had assumed that he couldn't see because of the lack of light. But she couldn't help recollecting how unfocused his eyes were, as if they were going cross-eyed.

She also wondered if Piotr knew who was after him. If he could wake up and have the strength to talk, then maybe he could shed some light upon why Magneto and the rest of the Acolytes deserted the hangar and also why the men from Hartwell Labs were after Piotr. Maybe Magneto was running away from Hartwell Labs. The Labs could have found out that it was Magneto's men who foiled their secret getaway on Sunday night, and perhaps in retribution, they decided to use Magneto's mutant army as test subjects for their demutagen.

She turned away from Piotr's door, and then was faced with Remy's. Rogue stepped forward, and the glass doors automatically parted. She walked in slowly, with the reverence of one entering a mausoleum. She saw his face.

A sudden emotion swept over Rogue that threatened to choke her. It wasn't nausea. It wasn't an emotion projected empathically by Remy. It was something that came from her own heart.

Looking at him lying on a bed so inanimate and motionless seemed wrong. She wanted to save him.   


She wanted to somehow get him out of her head back into his body. She wanted him to wake up. She wanted to see his strong arms move, his dexterous hands travel and his long fingers to caress a cheek, to brush a hair. To see his lashes flutter open and reveal brightly burning eyes. His hand would stroke hers. A voice soothing in her ear. A kiss.

She bit her lip, making sure she wasn't going to get too emotional. She had to think clearly. She willed herself to look at his face again, his eyes folded shut, sealed away from the world. Looking at his lifeless form, Rogue suddenly realized something.

She was a selfish person. The only real reason she didn't want the Professor to come into her mind was that she didn't want him to take Remy away from her. She wanted Remy in her mind, needed him, liked him. Over a few days, she had gotten very attached to him. But she never stopped to consider how Remy felt about her. Of course, he was always cheerful, but that didn't mean he was happy. He was flirtacious, but that didn't mean he was in love with her. And what if he was miserable, but was too considerate to voice it to her?

She forced herself to look at his body. This was the real Remy. Not the one in her head. Of course he was miserable. How could he not be?

Swish.

She heard the hum of the Professor's hoverchair behind her. She stood still, unmoving, and kept her eyes fixed on Remy.

"Rogue?"

She didn't answer.

"Did you have a chance to think about what you want to do?"

Her fists slowly clenched. "Professor…" she started, her eyes still locked on Remy's unconscious body.

"Yes?"

"Do you think you can return him to his body?"

The Professor said nothing, as if in quiet shock. "What do you mean?"

"Mr. McCoy said the demutagen didn't spread in him yet. And he could probably take out the infected portion of his cells. Then his body wouldn't have the demutagen in it anymore. Do you think, after that, you can send him back?"

The Professor thought to himself for a long time, and finally answered Rogue, who still stood frozen next to Remy's bed. "I believe that anything is possible, Rogue. If you would let me into your mind, and I can see the nature of your absorption of Gambit, then I might find a way to wake him from his coma."

Rogue nodded.

"Then Ah'll do it. You can enter m- !"

Suddenly she screamed. Hands flew up to her head, as she doubled over and her knees buckled onto   


the floor.

"ROGUE!" the Professor yelled.

She stood on her hands and knees, surprised by the sudden attack, but it had subsided quickly. Her breathing came out rapidly, not realizing what had just happened.

"Rogue! Tell me what had just happened? Was it Gambit? The voices?" the Professor urgently asked, his hands hovered around her shoulders, wanting to comfort her but her tank top exposed her skin. He put a hand on her back.

Rogue shook her head, not sure what it was.

"Rogue, please let me into your mind. I can find out what is wrong."

*Rogue, don't let him in!* Remy's voice suddenly filled her head. Rogue's eyes went wide in shock. The Professor also froze. "Remy…?" Rogue asked, confused. Why was he…?

*Just don't let him in. You can't let him in.* Remy's voice resounded in desperate urgency.

*Who is this? Is this Gambit?* the Professor interjected, his voice demanding. Rogue felt the voices. The noise began to build up.

*Don't let him in, Rogue. Jus' trust me on dis. Y'got t'trust me-*

*Rogue, do not listen to him. He is trying to control you.*

The voices exploded around her. Groaning, she sank to the ground, her hands on her head. Stop fighting.

*Y' don't know anyt'ing. Don't y'see you hurting her?* Remy yelled.

*Stop this! You are the one that has invaded her mind-*

*Jus' keep your distance, you only gon' make t'ings worse-*

*Rogue, please put down your shields, I can make the pains go away-* the Professor started.

*Don't listen t'him, chere. He doesn't know how t'fix de problems. You let him in, and he'll hurt you-*

*Do not lie. I would do no such thing. Rogue, you must listen to my voice, try to block out Gambit!*

Stop fighting. Please stop fighting. Rogue crumbled onto the floor. The psyches berated her, screamed at her. Remy yelling. The Professor yelling. She couldn't take anymore of this. Just stop. Her mind wavered. Suddenly, a searing pain took over every limb, nerve and cell of her body. Her head throbbed and pulsed, and in a tremendous agonizing piercing thrust, she felt the Professor squeeze through her mental shield.

A bloodcurdling scream rang out of the Med Bay. And Rogue lost consciousness.   


*

*

"Get out."

The Professor saw Remy who stood with his eyes aglow in menacing red and the ghost-like psyches swarming around him, as if they were his unholy army.

"Gambit, I presume," the Professor calmly stated. He was standing on his two feet and the psyches encircled him, hissing at him threateningly. One swooped down and lunged at the Professor. Quickly, the Professor stepped aside and brought forth a hand. Cool, blue lightning-like electric pulses streamed from the Professor's fingers and whipped at the psyche. The psyche shrank and disappeared. In response, the whole of the space the Professor, Remy and the psyches occupied pulsated and flashed in a dazzling array of colors.

"Stop dat!" Remy yelled. "You're hurting her!"

"No, you are the only one hurting her. Occupying her like this is disorienting her. And by keeping her psyches free to roam is aggravating her mind."

"De only t'ing dat's aggravating anyt'ing is you. De psyches are hurting her because of you."

"Then it's imperative that I erase them before they can inflict anymore damage upon her!" The Professor reached again with his hand, the glowing telepathic whips lashing out. Remy shot forward, grabbing the Professor by the wrist and glaring down into his face in scorn.

"Y'do dat one more time, an' you gon' regret it," Remy hissed. "Get out now. You do more harm den good in here."

"I will not let you usurp Rogue's mind," the Professor voiced resolutely. The blue electric tendrils retracted back into his hand and then flashed up his arm. A spark flew up and latched onto the hand Remy had over the Professor's wrist. The spark grew into rope-like fibres and wrapped tightly around Remy's body. The blue pulsed and sizzled, as it brought Remy onto his knees. Remy gritted his teeth, trying to break the bonds, the space around them throbbed and psychedelic colors flew about.

"Can't you feel dat? She's in pain!" Remy yelled, the ropes about him grew and grew more tightly around him, suffocating him.

"It will all be over, as soon as I can sweep away the psyches," the Professor said as he drew closer to Remy, his hand extended.

Suddenly, the psyches whirled around the Professor, screaming in unison and like a flock of ravens, dove as one concentrated unit against the Professor. The tendrils lost shape, releasing Remy, and the psyches flocked onto the Professor, latching their forms onto him like parasitic leeches. The room contorted and bended in shape and color. The psyches screeched in jarring tones. The Professor lashed back with his blue electric telepathic powers. He hacked at them, but their sudden concerted attack had caught him offguard. They never attacked back before. The Professor raised both his arms, drawing out more energy. Colors flashed and the space around them groaned in writhing pain.

*Stop it! All of you!* Remy's voice boomed overhead. *BACK!* he commanded.   


At his voice, the psyches hesitated, then they obediently moved off the Professor, but still circled around him in mistrust, snarling, whining, hissing.

The Professor looked about in confusion. The psyches were listening to Gambit, as if he was their lord and master.

"How are you able to control them?" the Professor demanded.

Remy walked closer, recovered from the previous energetic stranglehold the Professor's psychic powers had on him. The psyches parted to make room for Remy.

"For a man who claims he wants peace, y'sure quick to fight, non?" Remy said, red flashing behind narrowed eyes.

"Answer my question. How come they listen to you?" the Professor asked, standing upright.

"Dey listen. Dey speak. Dey think. Dey real as you an' me, only misunderstood. You come in here, beat dem down and leave. So dey take it out on her."

"They were disturbing Rogue long before I came into her mind."

"Dat's because Rogue pushes dem away too. She hates dem, and tries to repress dem. And all dey can do is lash back at her. It just got progressively worse since you came."

"And how do you know this?" the Professor asked. He was calmer now, but he still regarded Gambit skeptically.

"Because I talk to dem. Rogue didn' tell you, but she hasn't been hearing any voices in her head de past few days because basically, I'd been keeping dem happy."

"Happy?"

"Dey jus' like little children, and dey're attention-deprived. You show dem some love and dey quiet down. But you ignore and bully dem, and dey bound t'throw a tantrum. Didn't know dey were like dat until Rogue repelled me too, and once dey figured out dat I wasn't your substitute, dey kind' gave me a welcoming here."

"Does Rogue know about this?"

"Non, I noticed she's not too comfortable talking about her powers. So I was saving it till we meet again."

"Meet?"

"She and I can communicate, de same way you and I are doing right now. Except she has t'be asleep."

The Professor stood, unbelieving at what he was hearing. Much to his chagrin, he had never pursued the line of reasoning that the psyches did not want to harm Rogue. The idea that their violence might be bred out of oppressed desperation never occurred to him. He heard a long hiss and looked up to find the psyches still swarming about him in distaste.

"You have t'leave, your presence upsets dem," Remy said, his voice sounding a little tired.   


"I can understand if they are angry at me, but this is her mind. She has the right to feel safe in it. I cannot leave knowing that they will do further harm to Rogue."

"I make sure dat dey don't, hein?" Remy said. "You can talk t'her afterwards, but for right now, de best t'ing you can do for her is leave."

The Professor hesitated. Then, nodding in resignation, his form lost shape and he exited Rogue's mind.

*

*

It took awhile to search for her. She had hidden somewhere in a remote corner of her mind. The psyches found her first, possessively crowding her space. Remy waved them off her. He found her huddled around her knees, her hands tightly pressed to her ears.

"Rogue," he tried, but she kept her ears covered. "Rogue, it's me Remy."

He got on one knee and bent close to her face. Her eyes were open and unblinking. He put his hands over hers, trying to loosen the grip of her fingers onto her head. They wouldn't give, and finally she flinched away from his touch entirely. She mumbled something under her breath.

"What's dat?" he asked her, his voice a gentle whisper. She reacted as if he had yelled directly in her ear, bodily cringing from him. He didn't attempt to touch her, but he finally heard what she saying.

"They can have it… they can have it…" she said quietly, over and over.

"They can have what?" he tried. She answered with the same litany. Remy finally sighed in frustration, and sat next to Rogue. They were in some kind of warped alley corner, their backs against a brick wall covered with layers of old grafitti. He sat quietly next to her, his forearms balanced on his drawn-up knees. He could really use a cigarette right about now, but refrained from lighting up. He wondered how he was going to get Rogue back to sanity, or the likeness thereof.

Then he noticed something. There was a bright green park up ahead with beautiful flowers lining a colorful swing set. A skinny little girl sat upon one. She looked young, maybe 10 or 11. A head full of beautiful auburn curls with a distinctive white streaked across the ones haphazardly framing a round, cherubic face. Then there was a boy, who looked around the same age. He brought her flowers from the field. She laughed, childish bubbly laughter filled the memory and then they shared an innocent kiss. And then the scene vanished before Remy' eyes. Remy blinked and found Rogue standing her fists balled.

"Stop it!" she warned.

Confused, Remy looked at her and realized that she was the one who had stopped the memory.

Another scene filled out. It was in a cafeteria at school. A table full of girls laughed. A girl Remy recognized as Rogue among one of them. She was taller now, her hair longer and straighter tied up in pigtails. The girls crowded over the table in a hush, a table full of cosmetics. A blonde girl next to Rogue picked up a lipstick, opening the cap and the girls bent in to admire the color. Suddenly, she turned to Rogue, trying to get her to put it on. Rogue laughed, sheepishly refusing, grabbing her friend's hand, refusing the lipstick. The lipstick dropped.   


"STOP IT!" Rogue screamed. "You can have it! Ah don't want it! Just take my life! Just stop torturin' me! Can't you leave me alone?" she yelled in agony, her head defiantly turned to the air. She was screaming at her psyches. They uncomfortably shrank back.

"Chere, dey don't want y'body," Remy said quietly from behind. Rogue turned around, finally recognizing Remy.

"Dey can't take over y'body wit'out you in it. Dey lost wit'out you."

"Don't defend them," she pleaded, her eyes filled with hurt betrayal. "Ah didn't mean to hurt them. It wasn't my fault. Ah'm sorry you're here. Ah'm sorry everybody's here!"

"No one's blaming you, chere," Remy said, he stepped forward, trying to hold her, reassure her.

She stepped back and then jumped aside when she almost bumped into a psyche. She shuddered at the possible contact. The psyche angrily snapped at her. Rogue gasped and fell back away from it, Remy flew to her side, a warning hand flying up at the psyche.

"Hey now, she's scared," he cautioned the psyche paternally. "Don't confuse her." The psyche turned, angry and hurt.

"Just keep them away from me," she said, recoiling into Remy's shoulder.

Remy sighed, then turned her so she could look at his face. "Rogue, it's about time, you understand a few things about dese psyches."

"Ah don't want to understand them. It's bad enough they have to be in here," she said in disgust.

"An' what if I told you dat you can touch if you do?" Remy asked calmly. His eyes bore into hers. A look of confusion swept across her face, her eyes squinted in discomfort.

"What are ya talkin' about?"

"Chere, de psyches will listen to you. But you got t'learn how t'get along. Y'can't just repress dem because you feel guilty of what you done. And if y'can get de psyches t'listen, y'can get control over your powers."

"How?" Her breathing was calmer now, but she still held onto Remy, gripping his arm tighter if a psyche came into her view.

"When y'absorb somebody, it's not you absorbing, it's de psyches." Rogue blinked. She didn't speak.

"Haven't you ever noticed how dey get a little more excited when you get closer to somebody?"

She digested the question. "Yeah, but… but they scream at me, and Ah always thought it was their way of tryin' to make me feel bad for tryin' to absorb another person."

"Non. De psyches, dey feed off the energy dat's absorbed. Over time, dey kept on getting repressed, dat de only time dey can get some attention is through the introduction of a new psyche. Except even dat   


new one gets old, and y'just end up dealing with a head full of disgruntled voices. An' since you y'self have been trying to reject your own powers, y'kinda forked over de reigns to de psyches. An' de more you deprive dem, de more angry dey get, and de more dey want t'absorb and y'have less control over y'powers. Dat's de reason why de Professor could never help y'control dem. He was causing y'to lose more control by helping y'block off de psyches."

"So you're sayin' Ah can control my powers if Ah stop lettin' the Professor in?"

"Not only dat. But y'got to take care of dem. All de psyches are just tiny slivers of de actual full psyche. Dey like children. Dey just need some attention from you. Dey don't care how or why dey got into y'head de first place. All dey know is dat you keep dem locked away and shun dem if dey surface."

"Ah don't want to take care of them! They freak me out, Remy!" Rogue yelled.

"Rogue, dey only freaky to you, because y'make dem out dat way. Dis is y'mind. You have de ultimate control. You make dem out to be angry ghost-like spirits bent on torturing you, so dat's what dey manifest demselves as. If y'imagine dem differently, den dey won't be so scary."

Rogue put her hands on her head again, hating what Remy was implying. He was making it seem as if she had all the control. But she didn't know the first thing about how to go about it. Get along with the voices in your head? That sounded too crazy in order for it to work.

"But what if they take over my body… like last time?" Rogue asked.

"Dey won't do dat, as long as y'don't give dem a reason too. An' even if dey take over, dey won't last long wit it. Dey're not complete psyches, dey can't control anyt'ing. I'm a complete psyche and I only lasted a few minutes in it. Y'body will reject any ot'er minds save y'own."

"What do they want from me?" she asked, exhausted.

"Jus' some attention. A sense of belonging. Maybe some purpose in life. It doesn't have to be a lot. Jus' humor dem a little. Dere's someone in here who really likes the Three Stooges, so you jus' take some time an' watch an episode."

Rogue didn't appreciate the joke. "Ah don't want my life to be run by them!" "Dey not running y'life. You jus' dealin' wit dem. So dey're happy, non?" "And what if Ah don't want to deal?" she asked defiantly.

"Den… you live y'life wit'out touch."

Rogue looked at Remy, her eyes pained beyond belief. He regretted not sugar-coating the comment, but it was probably better to give her the cold facts.

"Look, Rogue. No one said being a mutant is easy. We change t'accommodate our mutation, non? Like dat one guy, Scott, he has t'wear sunglasses all de time, even in de dark. And den dere's dat fuzzy blue guy who has t'wear an image inducer t'school. You just have to communicate some more wit de people in y'head. Y'might not like it, but dat's de price y'pay t'keep y'powers under control."

Rogue remained quiet. She looked like she wanted to cry, but there were no tears. She finally let go of   


Remy's arm and looked at her own hands. For some reason, she never dreamed that touching would ever be a reality for her. She dreamed of it, yes, but she always knew that it would never come true. Remy had just told her how to overcome her greatest obstacle. She probably should have been happy, but she couldn't muster up any optimism. She felt defeated.

"No one is expecting you t'do dis overnight, chere. Even de psyches know dat. Y'just take dis a little at a time. And I'll be dere t'help you de whole way, non?"

She looked up at him. And he smiled, then quickly wet his lips in a sudden jab of modesty. His hand went up to scratch the side of his head. "You can use me like an ambassador or somet'ing until y'comfortable dealing wit dem directly."

Rogue swallowed. And she didn't fight the urge. She leaned in and took his lips into hers, pressed, then pulled back. Remy stared back at her, a little surprised by the kiss. She didn't look happy or grateful or anything. He couldn't detect what she was feeling, it was just a hodgepodge of conflicting emotions.

The only thing Rogue knew was that Remy was her anchor. And him telling her that he would be there brought her a surprising amount of relief. Her arms went around his neck, and she buried her face next to his throat. She felt his arms wrap around her, and his hand gently stroked her hair. If Remy was there, then maybe, she had nothing to be afraid of. She held on tighter and he tightened back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunning's Original Author's Note:  
> Good morning/afternoon/night! (depending on where your timezone is... guess what? I have a reader from Australia! How do you like them apples? ha ha ha)  
> So for those of you wondering if my Week of Hell has commenced, it hasn't. I'm actually in the thick of it. But the thing is, I need some kind of stress relief in order to keep myself going, right? So I've been rewarding myself with fanfic-writing priveleges with every final I get done with. And I just got two classes out of the way, and I did fairly well in my Ochem one, so I'm giving myself a pat on the back, by slaving over a computer screen for hours on end. But it's a good kind of slavery. =)  
> Well, I really need to go study for my genetics final now. But here's this chapter, which I consider the climax to one string of my story. There's 3 main plot platforms in "Giddy." There's the one with Rogue and her psyches, Remy trapped in her mind, and then the demutagen. And this chapter is kind of the climax of the first plotline, so I hope you enjoyed it.  
> Okay, then, I'm off to study more about DNA and mutations and such, so that I can eek out more ideas for fanfiction. I figure that's all it's good for. ^.~ Tootle-loo~~


	21. Gone

Rogue blinked. She was staring up at blurry white. Another blink and she discerned stucco on a white ceiling. It was her room, and she found herself waking up in her own bed. A thin white sheet covered her body, and she recognized the starchy stiffness as a bed sheet from the Med Bay. Somebody must have carried her back into her room, her skin gauzed in the bed sheet so that they would not get absorbed.

Of course, whoever had carried her, really had nothing to worry about. Her skin was touchable now. She could touch.

Rogue shifted and found Kitty at her side. She sat in a chair, her arms propped on top of Rogue's bed, and her face was half-hidden in the crook of her arms. She slept quietly, her soft brunette locks falling over her face and spilling onto her forearms.

Rogue didn't wake her. She looked down at Kitty's face and smiled faintly. Kitty must have been worried about her. Kitty was always worrying about her. They never really commented on the nature of their friendship, but as far as Rogue was concerned, Kitty was the closest thing she had to a best friend. Quietly, so that she wouldn't stir the mattress below her, she pulled out her arm from underneath the covers.

She had no gloves on. She just saw a long, creamy white stretch of skin starting from her shoulder to elbow to wrist to fingertips. The thought she might never need to wear gloves again made her heart leap in fearful joy; fearful because it sounded too good to be true. Rogue looked at Kitty's arms, slightly tanned with light brown freckles. Her eyes traveled to Kitty's hand, which was only a small distance away from Rogue's. Rogue raised her hand to touch it, but stopped, her fingers hovering a few centimeters above it. Quickly, she snatched the questing hand away and pressed it to her chest, afraid that it might be further tempted to touch if she kept it near Kitty's skin. She exhaled a quivery breath.

*Go ahead an' try it, chere,* Remy's voice came inside of her. *I'll make sure de psyches don't absorb her.*

Rogue did not reply back, and turned away from Kitty's arm, a little embarrassed.

*It's okay t'be curious,* he said.

*What if… what if it doesn't work?* Rogue asked.

*Dere's only one way t'find out.*

*But at Kitty's expense?* Rogue asked, looking at the sleeping girl, innocent and unaware of the potential danger that surrounded her.

*Nothing's gon' happen, chere. I give y'my word. If somet'ing happens, we tell her dat I did it.*

Normally that wouldn't have been good enough for Rogue, but right now, she was itching to see if she could indeed have skin-to-skin contact. Fear wavered, and anticipation replaced it. She reached out, and as if in slow motion, she saw her hand lightly fall over Kitty's.

And nothing.   


Rogue shakily sighed. After overcoming the initial shock of the soft resilient skin caressing back at the tips of her fingers, Rogue bit her lips, trying to keep calm.

*Look Ma… no gloves…* she joked, but her voice filled with wonder that threatened to choke into a sob.

Remy didn't say anything, content to let Rogue have her moment.

Her hand lifted off of Kitty's. Then, after a moment of reflection, Rogue hooked a couple fingers around Kitty's wayward bangs and swept it behind the girl's ear. She stroked the hair into place, grazing the skin of Kitty's cheeks and earlobe with a thumb. Kitty's eyes fluttered. Then opened. Suddenly, Kitty stiffened and her hand flew up to the side of her face, grabbing Rogue's hand in the air. Rogue jumped in surprise but didn't snatch her hand away. Kitty held Rogue's hand, then she turned to look at what she was holding onto. Her eyes widened like bright saucers and her pink lips formed a round 'O'. She returned the look to Rogue.

"Rogue, you… we're… I mean… like..." Kitty tried. "You can touch!" she finally managed to blurt out. "Yeah," Rogue said, her smile wide and bright and genuine.

"But how?" Kitty asked. She ran her thumb along the soft flesh over Rogue's knuckles, looking at it in fascination. Kitty finally looked up when she heard a sniff. Rogue was still smiling, but her brows contorted and her eyes brimmed with tears. She tried blinking them away, but then there was Kitty's hand on hers. Rogue bit down on her lip. Kitty's hand on hers. Her vision blurred, her shoulders shook as tears began to tumble down her cheeks, she covered her mouth with her other hand and then cried into it. She wanted to stop, but she couldn't. The tears just wouldn't listen. Kitty got up and hugged Rogue, her hands gripped tightly onto the crying girl's bare shoulders.

"Oh great, now I'm, like, crying too," Kitty mumbled, then sniffed.

Rogue wiped at her tears, then amidst her sobs, she laughed. Kitty let go of Rogue and smiled at her.

"Well, this is a big surprise," Kitty said, realizing the terrible understatement. Everything with Rogue the past few days was one shock and scandal after another. "Do I get an explanation for it?" she asked, cautiously, trying to sound like she meant nothing by it, but Rogue knew that their friendship seemed balanced on the question.

"It's a long story," Rogue started, after her sobs died down. It was a very long and complicated story. Kitty's eyes fell, and Rogue took a long breath, that shuddered from the crying that she was desperately trying to shake off. She tried to force some of her characteristic indifference into her voice, but couldn't resist taking Kitty's hand again and squeezing it reassuringly. "And Ah'll tell ya all about it, once Ah get somethin' t'eat. Ah'm starvin'."

"Oh! Um… I got pizza. It's actually still pretty warm," Kitty said, not too successful in hiding her relief and joy at Rogue's answer. She got up and went to her desk and grabbed a couple cans of pop and a box of pizza. Rogue sat up on her bed and crossed her legs. Kitty climbed on top of the mattress, tossing Rogue a can and sat against the bedpost opposite of Rogue, the box of pizza was placed on top of the bed between the two of them. They each took out a slice and munched quietly.

"Hey Rogue?"   


"Yeah?"

"I'm really sorry."

Rogue stopped and looked at Kitty, who sat staring at her pizza. "What are you sorry for?"

"Oh you know, about being all nosy and… and saying all those horrible things and I didn't mean it. I'm really sorry. I was way out of line and I wanted to apologize sooner, but then I really screwed up, you know, and I couldn't even look at you anymore and I was like 'Omigosh, she's like never gonna want to talk to me ever again,' and who could blame you after all the mean things I said, and I'm just really, really, really sorry."

Kitty stopped after the breathless, long-winded apology, and finally meekly looked up at Rogue. Rogue frowned.

"It's not you who should be apologizin', Kitty. Ah'm not really good at seein' good intentions sometimes. And, well, Ah guess Ah said some harsh things, too and so, Ah'm sorry. Ah haven't been much of a friend lately. Actually, Ah don't think Ah was ever much of a friend."

"That's not true, Rogue. You're a very good friend! You're always stickin' up for your friends, ya know? And sure, you're a bitch sometimes…"

"Excuse me?"

Kitty laughed, and then tossed herself next to Rogue and bumped her head onto the side of Rogue's head. "But I love you just the way you are! And like it's totally cool cuz you know how to put people in their place. By the way, did you know the whole school is, like, totally up to its neck with rumors about Pietro and Duncan dukin' it out over a certain French beauty named Amelie?"

Rogue rolled her eyes and smiled when Kitty wiggled her eyebrows. "To think, you single-handedly got the two most popular, cocky guys at Bayville High fighting over you. You know, we can have some serious fun if you keep up this Amelie act," she said.

"Yeah, but it's killin' my attendance," Rogue said, taking a nonchalant bite from her pizza. "Aww, you're no fun."

"How's the Professor?" Rogue asked after awhile. She didn't want to think back to that horrible ordeal, but she had fallen unconscious after hearing the voices and couldn't rightly remember what happened to the Professor when he was with Remy.

"He's okay," Kitty said, rather tersely.

Rogue stopped chewing, and then looked at Kitty, her eyebrows raised. "Is something wrong?" Rogue asked. "Is he all right? He's not hurt, is he?"

"No, he's not hurt. He's okay, but well, a few things happened while you were sleeping Rogue."

"What things?" Rogue asked, tense. She dropped her half-eaten pizza back into the box. "How long have Ah been asleep anyway?"

"A few hours. Maybe about five."   


Kitty looked nervous. "What is it, Kitty?" "They're gone."

"Who's gone?" Rogue asked.

"Gambit and Colossus. Magneto came and took their bodies away."

"What?" Rogue jerked up, knocking the box of pizza onto the floor. "How could this have happened?"

*Ask her if Magneto came himself,* Remy's voice suddenly entered.

"Did Magneto come himself?" Rogue asked, even more disoriented by Remy's sudden interjection. Remy had been quiet for such a long time that she had forgotten he was there.

"Actually, yeah. And guess who else?" "Who?"

"Pyro."

"What? Is he okay?"

"He seemed okay. A little quieter than usual, but like, I guess a life-threatening experience does that to a person, right?"

"So then, what happened?" Rogue said.

"Well, the Professor actually refused to let Magneto take them, until Magneto brought in Pyro and when everybody saw that Pyro was okay, we had no choice but to fork over their bodies. I mean if they have a cure over there, it's probably better they're there, right?"

"Yeah, but, Remy is…" Rogue couldn't finish. Her thoughts were all jumbled up. *Remy, what do we do?*

*I don' know, yet. But m'not sure if I like de idea of being separated from m'body… more so.*

*Yeah, Ah know. At least, when it was here, we knew what they were doin' with it.* "Hey Rogue."

Rogue faced Kitty and found a curious expression. "Yeah?" "Who's Remy?"

"What?" Rogue asked, startled that Kitty was saying Gambit's real name. "You just started to say something about Remy, who is he?" Kitty asked.

"He's… Remy is Gambit's real name," Rogue said, remembering that she promised Kitty that she wasn't going to keep any secrets from her. Besides, she could probably trust Kitty.   


"Do you know that cuz you absorbed him?" Rogue nodded in answer.

"Doesn't he bother you, you know, like the other voices?" Kitty asked tenderly. "Well, no, he's actually pretty well-mannered… most of the time."

*Most of de time? I'm de perfect gentleman. Tell her dat.*

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Correct that. He wants me to tell you that he's been the perfect gentleman." "Woah, you can, like, talk to him? That's way freaky."

"Tell me about it."

"Wait, does that mean like he can hear your thoughts, too? Cuz that'd be kinda embarrassing wouldn't it?"

*What is it wit you X-men girls? What kind of embarrassing t'oughts d'you get, anyway?* "No, he can't read my mind, and can we get back to more pressin' matters, both of you?" "Oops, sorry."

*Right.*

"So where is everybody? They just let Magneto come and take away the body? And that's it?"

"No, they followed him. Magneto requested they all come to deal with the problems with the demutagen. And I guess everybody's gonna be there, like from the Brotherhood and maybe even Evan and the Morlocks."

"Like a big mutant convention, huh?" "Yeah, something like that."

"How come you didn't go?"

"Well, somebody had to look after you. And besides, the Professor put me in charge of making sure you don't do anything, like, you know…"

"Stupid?" Rogue finished.

"I was gonna say 'rash' but your words, not mine." Rogue got up and out of the room, and Kitty followed. "Where you going?" Kitty asked.

"The Med Bay…" Rogue said. They made their way down to the hallway, and slid a wood panel along the staircase that hid the elevator to go down into the basement, which housed the Med Bay, the Danger Room, the Blackbird hangar and the Cerebro computer. For some reason, Rogue had to see that Remy   


was really gone. She just had to see the empty bed.

She entered the Med Bay, and taking the left into the hallway, she finally saw the glass door to his room. The foot of the bed was visible. But his feet weren't there. Rogue bit her lip.

"I told you they took them," Kitty said, a little confused.

"Yeah, Ah know, Ah just thought maybe…" Rogue looked forlornly at the empty bed. Kitty watched Rogue with quiet scrutiny, her eyes becoming thoughtful, but she didn't say anything. Finally, Rogue looked away from the bed, and her brows tightened with contemplation.

"Did they say where they were going?" Rogue asked.

"No, but we can track the Blackbird with Cerebro," Kitty said. "Are you planning on going?" Rogue nodded. "You gonna stop me?" she asked.

"Yeah, right. Like I'd get far doing that. But they've been gone for a couple hours now, they might be coming home pretty soon. And I'm sure the Professor would tell us all about it, so why don't we just wait till they come home?" Kitty suggested.

Rogue shook her head. "Ah need to go. There's somethin' else Ah need to do." "Like what?"

"Like…" Rogue took a long look at Kitty. "Ah'm gonna get Remy's body back."

"What?" Kitty asked, scrunching up her nose. "But they can get the demutagen out of him, Rogue."

"Ah know, but something doesn't feel right, and besides even if they do get the demutagen out of Remy, it's not like he's gonna wake up from his coma. And who knows what they're gonna do with his body."

"Yeah, but where would you bring him if you kidnap his body from Magneto?" Kitty asked. "If you bring him back to the mansion, then Magneto's just gonna come back and get it again."

"Ah'll figure that out after Ah get to see his body."

"Is Remy asking you to do this?" Kitty asked, after some thought. Kitty couldn't remember when Rogue was so obliging to the psyches she absorbed. She usually tried to keep away from people at all cost. Kitty had thought that Rogue might have almost been happy that Gambit's body was gone, so that Rogue wouldn't be reminded of the fact that she put him into a coma.

In answer to Kitty's question, Rogue asked Remy, *Ah think we should get your body back, don't you?*

*Sure, but de girl has a point. Where we gon' take m'body?*

*Ah don't know, but we have to know if their cure is safe. An' we should also see if Pyro really is back to normal, right?*

*S'pose.*

"I can't just stand here and do nothin', there's somethin' fishy about this whole thing," Rogue said. "Kit,   


you don't have to go if you don't want to."

"Like hell I'm not going!" Kitty blurted hotly. "Somebody has to watch your back while you're spacing out with Mr. Dreamboat up there!"

"Mr. What?" Rogue asked, an eyebrow raised.

Kitty smiled apologetically. "Yeah, well, that's what Amara and Rahne call him. And I guess like it kinda stuck among the girls."

*Tol' you Remy is irresistible to de femmes, non?*

"Anyway," Rogue pronounced. "Kitty, we're suitin' up. Then let's track the Blackbird." "Right," Kitty affirmed with a smart nod of her head.

They headed towards the girls' locker room that had their uniforms. Rogue walked briskly. Kitty followed.

"So what do you do when you need to take a shower or something?" Kitty asked. "Well, Ah try to close my eyes doin' it, but Ah can't really ask him to leave, can Ah?"

"Woah-ho-ho!" Kitty exclaimed, rather lecherously. "You know a lot of guys would kill to be in your spot, Remy?"

*Don' I know it,* Remy replied huskily.

"Kitty, please, stop encouragin' the boy! Ah swear, sometimes, you're worse than he is." "Why? What he say? What he say?" Kitty asked, cheerfully hyper. "C'mon, Rogue, tell me!"

*Like dis girl,* Remy said, with an amused chuckle.

*Lord help me, so do Ah.*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunning's Original Author's Note:  
> Hello, everybody~! Ahh~~ finals are over. Now I can go have unbridled fun in the sun~! I'm first glad that everybody received my explanation to Rogue's powers with great enthusiasm! That whole attention-deprived psyches thing is actually my brain child, so I'm fairly proud of it! Anyway, so I'm gonna try to resolve all the problems that's been happening to Rogue as of late, but give me some time to untangle out of this complex spider web I've trapped myself into.  
> So I'm gonna reply to only a few of yall, cuz basically, I'm a little tired. And all my brain cells have been spent. But, a big thank you to everybody who reviewed!  
> ishandahalf: Yay! You're back! And gasp, you brought the pigeons of Notre Dame with you! Aghhh~~! Hee hee... (unbridled fun in the sun talkin') Anyway, glad you're back. has been deprived of its favorite crackpot. And now she's back from Europe, and loonier than ever, folks!  
> rzerob: You know, the way this story is going. It might just be another twenty chapters to completely resolve itself. *sigh* I can't help it. I don't know why I do this to myself. Did you know originally, I was supposed to be done with this story like 8 chapters ago? Grr!
> 
> epona: Ireland? That's fantastic!  
> Trunksgirl, Ambrosia, Green Eyed Lily's Daughter: Wow, there's a lot more Australian readers than I thought!  
> Neurotic Temptress: You know I bought myself a cookie after I read your review. So thanks for the cookie. And with regards to the Professor. I figure he's always feeling a little deprived, what, being confined to his wheelchair and all. So that when he gets the opportunity to physically battle evils, he'll get a little guilty rush out of it. And I'm not saying that's wrong, I think it's understandable, I mean he's only human, right? Plus, he really does want to help Rogue. And considering she doesn't ever tell him anything, he can only run on his assumptions that Gambit is another psyche that's bent on torturing her.  
> Babs Yerunkle: Hmmmm... you're not, by chance, psychic are you? Anyway, you more or less got the story figured out. But I hope you'll still join us for the ride. Nobody read Babs' review if you don't want spoilers!  
> Chiru: Fighting chronic laziness is so hard. I'm so proud of you. And thanks for thinking that the characters sound believable... I think that's very important. And maybe it is the dialogue, but I think it's understatement. I mean, if I think back to all the fics I've read, the ones that I really liked were where Rogue is NOT falling in love with Remy at first sight, and they're not totally gaga over each other after like 5 minutes of talking. And I admit, sometimes you want to just get past all the trivial he said/she said stuff and just throw them into romance and action, but for the sake of a good story, you have to build their relationship and go through all the trudging long, boring details. And I always struggle with writing in the boring stuff. You know like the scenes without Remy in it. Anyway... there's my 2 cents about writing fanfiction.  
> jebrylla: FINLAND!  
> Christy S: Yeah, about the question with the Professor. I don't think he'd say anything to the other kids. Because frankly, he's kinda like Rogue's therapist, right? And you know, that whole Hippocratic oath thing, what goes on between a doctor and patient stays inside the shrink's office. So I don't think the Prof's gonna say anything to the other kids, until there's some imminent danger if he doesn't.  
> SadYear: Thanks for delineating the problems that's eating at you, cuz now I know what to explain.  
> *sigh* I swear there's so much complications in this story.  
> me: Yes, I'm in college. And it's kickin' my butt.  
> Nes: Uh-oh, you managed to get out of fanfiction and then I just suckered you back in, huh? Well, I'm glad you're here... but what was that one line in Godfather (was it Godfather..?) "just when you think you're out..."  
> beth: ARKANSAS!  
> Well, thanks again for everybody who reviewed. And I'll try to update regularly, but my sister's visiting me this week and she and I are gonna do the whole girls' week thing. I'm ashamed to say that ever since I started writing fanfiction, I've basically let my body go to waste. I think the last time I went running was like a month ago. And that's depressing me, because I actually formulated all the major facets to this story on the treadmill. (Yes, I thought of demutagen when I was on my 3rd mile...) So I've only been exercising from like time to time when I get writer's block. =P But yeah, I'm gonna try to get myself back into shape, maybe go buy some make-up and buy a whole new spring wardrobe. It's time I felt like a girl again.


	22. Conspiracy

Kitty's face was illuminated in a faint blue as she frowned at the computer screen in front of her. "That's odd, for some reason, Cerebro can't track the Blackbird," she said as she clicked away.

"Maybe Magneto has some kind of anti-trackin' device around his new hideout," Rogue suggested, looking over Kitty's shoulders.

"Maybe," she said.

"So are we out of options now or what?" Rogue asked.

"Well, I guess, like, I could try and track the communicator links over the radio waves," Kitty said, chewing at her bottom lip. "But most likely whatever's disrupting Cerebro's signals would probably disrupt the communicators as well. But then again, I guess, it's like worth a chance or whatever."

"Do you know the frequency we're usin'?" Rogue asked. The X-men had micro-sized communicators that they used during mission. In order to prevent party line interferences, they systematically switched their radio frequencies.

"Yeah, Mr. McCoy said he wrote it down on the edge of his lab desk," Kitty said, the blue light of the computer screen absorbing her.

"Ah'll go get it," Rogue volunteered when Kitty didn't budge.

She entered the Med Bay and found it dark and empty. Flipping on the lights, she began searching around Mr. McCoy's lab bench trying to find any memos with the radio channel written down. There was nothing on top of the counter, except his microscope and a couple of empty beakers. She turned on the overhead lamp and the metallic sheen of graphite pencil scratchings reflected back at her from the edge of the counter top. She noticed it was in Mr. McCoy's scrawl.

It read: "93.0501. Be back soon. Dinner's in the fridge." Rogue raised an eyebrow.

*What the heck?* Rogue said, looking at the number. *That frequency is too broad. We work on nanometric radiowaves.*

*Maybe it's a clue,* Remy said. *Go check de fridge.*

She was soon opening the door to the large metallic door of the fridge in the downstairs' kitchen. There was nothing special in it, except for maybe dinner.

*Ya think he was bein' literal?* Rogue asked, looking at leftover lasagna on the top shelf.

*Non, it's got t'be a clue. Why else would he tell Kitty dat he wrote down the de radio frequency an' den write somet'ing else?*

*Well, then, why write in code?* Rogue asked.

*Maybe de doctor knows somet'ing dat he couldn't let on,* Remy offered. *Any ot'er fridges in de   


house?*

*Well, yeah, there's one in the den, the locker rooms, one in Logan's room and probably Ororo and the Professor have one too…*

*How about de beast doctor?*

*Yeah, he has one for holdin' chemicals an' stuff.*

*Den m'bet's on dat one.*

Rogue found Kitty bent over the message, squinting in befuddlement, when she arrived back at the Med Bay.

"Like, what the heck is that supposed to mean?"

"Ah'm thinkin' it means whatever we're lookin' for is in the fridge," Rogue replied shruggingly, and walked to the refrigerator next to the fumehoods. She yanked it open. It was mostly empty except for a chilled well plate, a frozen box of some microwaveable food and a brown tinted container. Taking out the brown container, she snapped it open and a hissing noise indicated the vacuum seal had been broken. There was a small vile in it the size of Rogue's pinky finger, and it was empty. She turned the vile around. There were small, engraved letterings on the side of the vile. Rogue squinted and brought the vile closer to her eyes. It read 'SXMTech.'

"Wait, Ah've seen this name before," Rogue thought out loud. "At the Acolyte base, the gun in Magneto's drawer…"

"What gun?" Kitty asked.

*Dis… vile… * Remy said.

*What is it?* Rogue asked.

*I t'ink it's de one dat held de demutagen, y'know de one dat Logan stole from Hartwell Labs.*

Almost immediately, Rogue put it back into the container and snapped it shut. She shuddered. Although the vile was empty, it seemed whatever horrid things the chemical was capable of, perniciously revolved around the vicinity of that container.

*Wait a minute,* Rogue stopped. *How come Magneto's tranquilizer gun and Hartwell Lab's demutagen vile are both made by SXMTech?*

*De vile is de same size as de spring loaded compartment on de gun, too, don't y't'ink?*

*Yeah…*

A chill went down Rogue's back, and she wasn't sure if it originated from Remy or herself.

"Earth to Rogue! What the heck is going on?" Kitty waved her hand frantically in front of Rogue's face. Rogue stood with her hand lightly kneading her temple.

"Kitty, can you run cross-check references in Cerebro?" Rogue asked, an idea dawning upon her.   


"Sure, what references?" "SXMTech and Hartwell Labs."

"Okay," Kitty said. "But you are gonna tell me like what the heck all this means right?"

"Yeah," Rogue nodded. They headed towards the Cerebro computer room, and as Kitty began to run the search, Rogue explained what she had found in Magneto's drawer and what Piotr had told her during her excursion at the Acolyte base.

"So let me get this straight," Kitty said, tapping a pencil on the edge of a desk. "We have the bullet, which is the vile of demutagen that we found in Mr. McCoy's lab fridge. We have the gun that matches the bullet, which was found in Magneto's desk drawer. And then we have the victims, whom according to Piotr are the entire Acolyte team. Magneto and Hartwell Labs both leave Bayville at the same time. And then we have Hartwell Labs trying to chase down Piotr, who we also know have been demutagenized. From the looks of this, it seems like Magneto is working with Hartwell Labs to demutagenize his own team."

Rogue nodded. "Yeah, but why?"

*Ask Kitty how Pyro was acting when he came,* Remy said.

"You said Pyro was quieter than usual, right? Was there anythin' else about him?"

"Not that I could tell just by looking. He just came in and showed us that he regained his mutant powers, and when Magneto told him to leave, he left. That was about it," Kitty looked back at the computer screen. "There's not much hits with SXMTech and Hartwell Labs. Here's one dated 1985."

Kitty loaded a small article and browsed the contents.

"It's some kind of roster of all the scientists that worked at SXMTech. Other articles show that SXMTech was some kind of, like, labware distributors. But they went bankrupt during the Asian Economic Crisis or something like that, I guess like all their investors were in the East. And this article says that most of these scientists were scouted off by competing labs and other companies, and I guess a few went over to Hartwell Labs."

Rogue looked at the roster of names. Suddenly, one name popped out.

*Nathaniel Essex,* Remy said.

*Do you know him?* Rogue asked.

*He's one of de doctors dat Magneto commissions.* "Kitty, search for Dr. Nathaniel Essex."

Kitty typed his name. "Any specific reason?" "Remy says he works for Magneto."

"Woah, that's pretty freaky," Kitty replied. She clicked on the Cerebro profile. "He's listed as one of the co-founders of SXMTech, but then he was fired over some legal issues."   


"What kind of legal issues?" Rogue asked.

"Apparently, Essex sued the company for something and lost. It doesn't go into much detail."

*Probably discrimination, the man's a mutant,* Remy informed.

"Remy says Essex was a mutant," Rogue told Kitty, staring into the monitor. "Really? It doesn't say he's a mutant. What's his powers?" Kitty asked.

*Don' know. Never saw him much t'begin wit, an' de man's not de social type.*

"We don't know," Rogue told Kitty. "What else? What about his connection with Hartwell Labs?"

"Well, it says here that he just disappeared after his lawsuit failed. And then SXMTech went bankrupt a year later. There's no mention of Hartwell Labs."

Rogue chewed on her lip. "Dr. Essex gets fired because he's a mutant. So he probably can't get a normal job like everybody else, right? So then Magneto takes him under his wing. And maybe Dr. Essex gets his justice after all when only a year after his departure, the whole company dies."

"You think Magneto helped him bring down SXMTech?" "Maybe," Rogue shrugged.

"But now SXMTech is making demutagen viles for Hartwell Labs' demutagen," Kitty noted. "So it's almost like Hartwell Labs just bought out SXMTech's equipment."

"Ah don't get it," Rogue frowned, her arms crossed in front of her. "That makes both of us," Kitty exhaled.

*Let's jus' try t'keep it simple. SXMTech and Hartwell Labs create demutagen. Essex has connections to the company to somehow get a hold of demutagen. Magneto employs Essex. Den Magneto poisons all of his men. And Essex cures them.*

*Right. And that's supposed to make sense? Seems kind of counterproductive, doesn't it?*

*Remember dat number dat McCoy left? If dat doesn't fit de radio frequency, what is it?* "Hey Kitty, do you know what the radio frequency that left means?"

"I have no clue," Kitty replied, shrugging her shoulders and shaking her head.

*De beast doctor didn't know dat we heard of SXMTech before, so m'guess is de vile in de fridge is not what he was intending f'us t'find.*

*But there wasn't anything else inside the fridge.*

*Y'sure about dat?*

Rogue got up and headed back to the Med Bay. Kitty followed suit.   


"Mind telling me what just happened between you two?" Kitty asked as Rogue yanked open the door to Mr. McCoy's fridge again. She looked at the contents. The cold well plate, the container with the demutagen vile and the box of microwaveable dinner. Dinner. Dinner's in the fridge. She grabbed the frozen box and then began to pull open the flaps.

"Still hungry?" Kitty asked, as Rogue tore at the packaging. A round, silver object fell out the size of Rogue's palm.

"What is it?" Kitty looked at the object, not expecting something so alien to fall out of a box that professed to contain cheesier macaroni.

"Ah don't know…" Rogue trailed, a black bar on the face of the object suddenly lit up. "Woah, what's it doing?" Kitty gasped.

"It says 'enter access code'," Rogue said, looking at the face.

"The radio frequency!" Kitty exclaimed. She ran over to the lab desk and read the numbers out loud.

"Where the heck am Ah supposed to key it in?" Rogue asked, flipping over the strange object every which way trying to find some kind of miniature keyboard hidden under the smooth surface. Then the object beeped again. She checked the face.

"It says 'access code confirmed'," Rogue said.

"Cool, maybe it's like voice-activated or something," Kitty said, sidling up to Rogue to get a better look at the contraption. The screen blinked 'loading'. Suddenly, a static noise emitted from the object. Then a crisp, clear recording of Mr. McCoy's voice sounded from the device.

"Kitty or Rogue. I am in desperate hopes that my clues were not too vague. I apologize for making you sleuth for this information, but I cannot be too overt, especially now with Magneto on our premises. He has invited us to an area where, I believe no doubt, is highly protected, and I have reason to fear that Magneto's agenda for bringing the X-men there is not for the sole purpose of enlightening us about the demutagen. I have recently discovered that Magneto holds an antidote for the demutagen that can easily revert the DNA back to its normal sequence. Magneto has allowed me to sequence Pyro's DNA and it is indeed back to normal, but what concerns me is his scars and wounds that would indicate a surgical procedure, when the application of the antidote does not need further surgery. Pyro's behavior as well is suspicious. His eyes have an unfocused waywardness and he exhibits slightly mechanical movements. I must see what he plans to do with the bodies of Piotr Rasputin and Remy LeBeau. It seems as if the rest of Magneto's team has been infected as well and are also undergoing treatment. The only mutants that do not seem to have been exposed are Sabretooth and Magneto himself. I am not sure what to think of this myself, but my past dealings with Magneto tells me to be wary of him. The fact that Magneto has not even disclosed the whereabouts of where he's taking us is also rather dubious. This device was created by Forge, so I am not sure how well it works, but it is supposed to allow communication using extraordinarily high wavelengths. If in case, something happens, we will try to contact you…"

There was a static and Mr. McCoy's voice cut out. Both Kitty and Rogue stayed quiet. Rogue tried to remain calm, but a chill ran up her back.

"They're in trouble," Rogue stated grimly.   


"We don't know that," Kitty retaliated, but her voice was not convinced by her own argument. "The X-men don't know what we know."

"And what do we know?"

"That Magneto is the one responsible for the demutagen. They walked into a trap. And whatever Magneto did to Pyro, he's going to do to all of us."

"Oh God, stop," Kitty said, her eyes clenched shut, trying to deny what Rogue was saying. Suddenly, sirens blared and red lights flood the entire room.

"Code Red!" Kitty yelled over the screeching cacophony. Code Red designated that the mansion grounds not only had intruders on it, but they had infiltrated the house. The two ran to the computer room and scanned the monitors. The foyer and the upstairs rooms were being kicked open, one by one, by men in black uniforms and dark masks.

"Those are the same guys that were after Piotr!" Rogue yelled. "What do we do?" Kitty yelled back.

Rogue grabbed Kitty by the arm and ran towards the Blackbird hangar. She hoped that there was something there to make a getaway in, but her hopes were dashed when a loud explosion shook the whole foundation and the hangar door that led to the exit was blown open. Black smoke enveloped the hangar causing them to choke and tear. Helicopter rotors could be heard beating the air and smoke particles away. Rogue squinted and discerned dark-suited men jumping down from the chopper from bunjee cords. Then she heard the clicks of guns. Instinctively, she tightened her grip on Kitty's arm. When the smoke cleared, they were completely surrounded. The men held their guns up and walked in closer, the circumference of their huddle tightening around the two girls.

Rogue willed herself to stay calm. She squeezed Kitty's arm twice. Kitty looked at Rogue, and then returned her gaze back at the circle of men.

"Did Magneto send you?" Rogue demanded, facing the masked man closest to her, still yelling over the sirens.

He said nothing, but shot out his arm and pressed the nozzle of a tiny silver gun onto Rogue's neck. She recognized the gun, loaded with the purple demutagen vile. He pulled the trigger. With a quick sucking noise, a needle protruded into her neck and the liquid emptied out of the vile, phased through her body and finally splattered over the floor. The men looked at the puddle of demutagen in confusion, and realized their mistake when Rogue's knee flew up into the man's groin, grabbed him by his mask and flung his body at the others. They landed in a thud. The sound of triggers being pulled simultaneously resonated off the high hangar walls. Bullets whipped by them and through them as Rogue held on fast to Kitty. They dove behind a large wooden crate, and Rogue let go of Kitty's arm and ripped off her gloves, balled them together and charged them. The high-pitched whine momentarily drowned at the sirens, and Rogue launched the gloves over the crate. Then taking Kitty by the hand, she took off in a mad sprint for the gaping hole in the wall and jumped off.

As she broke across the wall into the outside, the sirens died away and a deafening crackle and boom exploded. She felt her body lift, the pressure in her ears build and heat rolling against her back.   


Another surge of exploding heat ripped Kitty away from her. Rogue saw Kitty drop, their bodies heaved away from the exploding hangar, and plummeted down the depth of the cliff into certain oblivion. They fell and fell.

Rogue suddenly pointed her chin into her chest, and her eyes fixedly set on one goal. She soared with gravity, her hair fluttering behind her, her arms extended downwards, her fingers reaching. Finally, she grabbed Kitty by the hand, then pulled Kitty's air-born body towards hers and latched an arm around Kitty's waist.

Then Rogue defied gravity.

Swinging around her legs, so that they would point to the ground, Rogue raised her chin and lifted her body with Kitty's up into the air. They stood suspended in the sky, Rogue's eyes still focused on the curling smoke of the burning hangar. Kitty squirmed and suddenly saw the whole world below her feet in bird's eye view.

"ROGUE!"

"What?" Rogue blinked. And saw below her. "WHAT THE HELL?" And they fell again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunning's Original Author's Note:  
> Hello, everybody. It's been a long time. I don't have much time right now, so I'll hurry up and load and supply comments later.  
> Terribly sorry about the super late update. Sorry. Desole. Lo siento. Gomen. Me-ahn. And that's where my foreign language stops.  
> Next chapter will happen a lot sooner. I promise. =)


	23. Rescue

With a start, Rogue snapped her eyes open. She was out of breath and cold clammy sweat dewed upon her brow. There was nothing but darkness before her. She blinked and tried to move, but her movements were sluggish, like she was swimming in a bog. She stopped to think what had happened. The men tried to put demutagen in her. Did they manage to get some in? No, she saw the liquid phase through her. She had been holding onto Kitty's hand, so Kitty must have made her body transient. Where was Kitty now? Last thing Rogue could remember was falling. Or was she flying? She tried to focus and finally made out a figure. And then she saw two glowing red lights in the darkness. Remy…

"Great," Rogue groaned. "Ah'm unconscious, aren't Ah?"

"Nice t'see you, too, chere," Remy said. His voice soothed her ears like some heal-all poultice. She moved to get up, but her body was still groggy.

"What happened?" she asked.

"T'ink Magneto's trying t'collect all de mutants. First, de Acolytes, den de X-men, maybe de Brotherhood and de Morlocks too. Since he missed you an' Kitty, probably sent his men t'collect."

"Since when did Magneto employ humans to do his dirty work?"

"He doesn't. But whatever he's planning now, got him some strange alliances, non?"

Remy paused and pressed a hand onto Rogue's forehead. With his touch the whole space warped and her vision blurred.

"Rogue, what's wrong?" he asked, his voice concerned.

"Can't really focus on anything and my body won't listen to me," she mumbled, her eyes closed and opened in slow motion. "Kinda weird and dizzying…"

"Chere, y'need t'get up. I mean, try t'get out of dis dream world. Kitty's out dere and we're not sure if she's unconscious like you or if she's in trouble. Dere were more of dose men den de ones dat went down wit de explosion."

Rogue nodded lackadaisically, but then frowned. "How do Ah get up?"

"I don' know," Remy confessed. Then he paused and smirked. "Maybe we try jumpin' off a bridge or somet'ing, non? Don' dey say dat always wakes y'up from a dream?"

She remained silent for a moment, her brows knotted in perplexed thought. "Hey Remy, was Ah imaginin' things or was Ah just flyin'?"

"Y'were flying."

"Oh." She looked numbly up at the darkness. So she was flying. Wait, she was flying? She opened her mouth, but her voice didn't work.

"You probably want t'know how, right?" Remy asked, his hand had traveled down to her shoulder and he patted it, trying to get her to recover from her shock. She nodded, slowly, and the movement caused her to see in double. She blinked hard.   


"Remember when I told you de psyches need some attention an' love from you?"

Her head nodded, and bobbed and tipped. "Yes," she said, at least her voice was still functioning.

"Well, when y'give attention t'de mutants dat y'absorbed, dey like t'use deir powers. Dey can feed you deir powers jus' like how I can feed you mine. Except dey aren't complete psyches like me, so m'guess is dat you can't use dem all de time. When we jumped out de hangar, I fed you some of Stormy's power here."

"Stormy?"

A ghost-like spirit passed by Rogue, causing her to stiffen.

"She's a psyche dat y'absorbed before. She can control weather an' fly an' maybe some other t'ings too."

"Ororo…" Rogue realized. The spirit suddenly took on the likeness of Ororo's beautifully serene face, then disappeared. "Ah'm so sorry, you're still trapped…"

"Don' be sorry, chere. Dey a part of you, now. You define dem. An' if you willing, dey wan' t'help." "But Ah'm not sure how Ah'm supposed to use them."

"I'll just feed deir powers t'you. An' you'll know how t'use dem, jus' like y'know how to use mine."

Rogue attempted to nod again, but suddenly felt her sight collapse and a pain that dully throbbed against her like some terrible migraine. She couldn't breathe. Remy looked around the dark void that flashed up in bright lights which indicated that she was in pain. Something was wrong with Rogue. Something physically wrong with her that was causing her mind's world to collapse. Kitty had allowed the demutagen to phase through Rogue, so Rogue shouldn't have been affected. Maybe Rogue's fall had rendered her unconscious and her mind and body was slowly dying. Another flash. Remy looked nervously at the space around him. Then at Rogue. She was fading away, her brows contorted in a grimace, biting down hard onto her lips to fight something. He didn't know what to do. He suddenly wondered what would happen if Rogue died. Remy looked down. Rogue disappeared.

*

*

"C'mon, Rogue, wake-up…"

Suddenly, Rogue spluttered. Water gurgled forth from her mouth and she twisted her body to the side, coughing out the water that seemed to rip away at her lungs and chest as they exited. She gasped for oxygen. She tried to push herself up from the ground, but collapsed back onto the floor. She felt some grainy, dirt-like gravel pressed up against her face, and the smell of grass invaded her nostrils. And then she felt her body being tightly held. Slowly, she opened her eyes and blinked away water. Kitty had her in a tight embrace, rocking her body to and fro as if she was lulling Rogue to sleep.

"Oh Thank you, thank you…" Rogue heard Kitty repeat.

Rogue blinked again, and finally she began to take in familiar shapes of sky, dirt, grass and water. Rogue was on her back, and Kitty was kneeled next to her. Kitty's hair was completely wet and so was   


her uniform.

"What happened…?" Rogue managed to gurgle.

"You almost drowned to death that's what!" Kitty wailed, fear and anxiety erupted from her voice. "Drowned?"

"We fell into the lake, and I guess you lost consciousness while we were falling. I had to fish you out and swim to shore," Kitty managed through pants, her chest was heaving up and down, out of breath. "I had to frickin' give you, like, mouth-to-mouth recessitation and CPR and crap like that, and holy friggin' cow, you scared me out of my mind."

Rogue opened her mouth, not knowing what to say. "Kitty, you saved my life."

"Not yet. Sorry to do this to you, but we gotta get away fast from here. Those men are still after us and we're still close to the mansion. These trees aren't gonna hide us for long," Kitty said, looking up at the forest canopy.

Rogue braced herself, an elbow on the ground, and with Kitty's help, managed to sit up. Burning pain stabbed through her chest every time she moved to breathe. To both of the girls' utter dismay, Rogue fell back onto the ground and doubled-over in a fit of coughing. Sweat and water mingled and stung at her eyes.

"Ah can't move, Kitty, you get out of here while you can," Rogue gasped. "Oh for cryin' out loud, Rogue! Don't give me this bullshit!" Kitty cried.

A loud, roaring wind whipped up the foliage of the trees above them, and a bright light scoured over the leaves, causing threatening shadows to silhouette on the forest floor. Two helicopters chopped up the air above them. Kitty frantically tried to scoop up Rogue, her wet hair slapping in the wind and dust rising to bury Rogue's prostrate form.

"Rogue, c'mon!" Kitty screamed, not sure if Rogue could hear her voice over the noise of the choppers. Suddenly, the searchlights fell upon them and the two girls were bathed in a bright spot of light. Kitty squinted up at the light, and then attempted to get Rogue to move again. She looked down at Rogue's face. Rogue lay limp in Kitty's arms, her eyes serenely closed.

"Rogue?" Kitty screamed in alarm, shaking Rogue's form.

Suddenly, Rogue's face rose to meet the helicopters above them, and her eyes shot wide open. Grayish white clouds swirled in her eyes, obscuring her green pupils. Rogue's hand shakily rose, her trembling fingers pointing upwards, indicating the air, the wind, the sky.

Then the wind calmed. The air pressure rose. It beat against Kitty's ears. And Kitty could see no more light, no more trees, not even Rogue below her, though she could still feel the girl's body in her arms. A thick, white fog settled all around them. Layers and layers of it, its impermeable vapors reflecting light every which way, almost distorting the sound as well. The whole world was immersed in homogenous silver.

Soon, a surreal quiet enveloped them. The noise of the helicopters distant, then gone. Kitty pulled up Rogue's head close to hers so that she could see her through the opaque mist. Her eyes were closed.   


"Rogue?" Kitty asked timidly.

"It's not gonna last," Rogue said after awhile, quivery but calm. "We should really escape right about now, doncha think?"

"You have a lot of explaining to do, dammit!" Kitty cried, but couldn't hide the relief in her voice. She pulled up Rogue and this time, Rogue obliged and put an arm around Kitty's shoulders. Kitty hoisted her up, and they walked together, slowly cutting through the mist.

"Where we goin'?" Rogue asked, exhausted.

"I don't know!" Kitty blurted out, her exhaustion fringing upon frustrated anger. "I can't even see through this fog!"

They walked silently, not knowing which direction was up and soon the fog began to thin.

*Hey, Remy.*

*Oui?*

*Find Sabretooth. Didn't you say he has some kind of healing power?*

*D'accord." There followed a silence. "Feeding him t'you now…kind' feel like an operator.*

Rogue smiled. She felt a slow, creepy sensation pass over her. Gradually, she felt the pain in her chest ease away and the strength in her legs returning. She took a deep breath and slowly removed her arm off Kitty's shoulders. Kitty stared at Rogue and frowned.

"What the heck, Rogue!" Kitty whined in exasperation. "I've had it up to here with your weird behavior!" Kitty tried raising her hand to indicate up to where, but her arm didn't get past shoulder level and dropped to her side. "Crap, I'm tired," Kitty muttered.

"Just rest, now, Kit," Rogue said.

Rogue moved behind Kitty and locked her elbows below Kitty's arms. "What… what are you doing?" Kitty asked.

"We're gonna fly out of here," Rogue calmly stated. "You're freaking me out, Rogue."

"That makes the two of us," Rogue sighed. *Can Stormy still fly?*

*Oui, but not too long. She don't have much energy left.*

*What happens if she runs out? Will she disappear?*

*Don' know, but I t'ink dey jus' get tired. She'll recover after awhile, m'guessin'.*

*Doesn't Magneto fly?*

*He can, but he needs t'ings he can magnetically attract him to in order t'levitate himself. Not sure if dis   


forest is cut out for dat.*

*Let's try it anyway. Ah remember he can fly by magnetically chargin' the air particles around him. Ah tried it the last time he took over me.*

*Okay den. Hold on, chere.*

A wave of static hovered over her. Rogue's hair, despite being wet, started to rise straight up. *We good to go?* Rogue asked.

*Oui, but don' fall down once we up, neh?*

*Right. But tell me when Magneto's powers are gonna start crappin' out on me.*

*D'accord. You feelin' better, chere?*

*Much.*

Taking a deep breath, Rogue closed her eyes. She felt pricks of static all around her, charged air that popped against her skin. They were uncomfortable, but she gritted through the minor discomfort. When she opened her eyes, she was standing among clouds. Looking down she couldn't even see the mansion below her. It was exhilarating.

"You okay, Kitty?" Rogue asked into Kitty's ear.

"Just tell me when we land, okay?" Kitty said, her teeth clamped together and her eyes squeezed shut. "Where are we going?"

"If it's okay with you, let's go save our friends." "How? We don't even know where they are!"

"Sure, we do. Mr. McCoy told us," Rogue said. The metallic device that Mr. McCoy had left them, detached itself from Rogue's utility belt as she magnetically willed it to appear before her. "Track the other half," she commanded.

The metallic disk parted open and a green grid appeared with a red beeping light. "It's a map grid, the beeping light is where the others are," she said assuredly. "How did you know that?" Kitty asked. "Mr. McCoy never told us how it worked."

"I absorbed a little of Forge once. He remembers his own invention. They're just hi-tech walkie- talkies. But Ah have a feeling Mr. McCoy doesn't want us to attempt any rescues so he probably intentionally kept out information on how to use it."

"How come you didn't remember that before?" "Because he didn't talk to me before."

"You can talk with Forge?"

"No, but Remy can, and he interprets for me."   


"Oh…" Kitty said, she peeped an eye open and watched clouds fly by her. "Cool." But Rogue didn't hear Kitty. Her mind focused on the grid in front of her.

"They're on some kind of island. The grid will indicate how close we're getting," Rogue said as she flew across the horizon, the charged particles of air prickling her skin as she cut through the sky.

"So tell my why you can fly again?" Kitty asked, her eyes clenched shut.

"Remember that time when Ah lost control of my mind, and Ah started shape-shifting?" "When you absorbed Ris- er, Mystique, right?"

"… Yeah," Rogue replied, her voice sank momentarily, and as if to shake it off, she focused her eyes ahead of her. "Ah can touch now because Remy's controlling the psyches. And when Remy controls them, Ah can use their powers too."

"…Okay…" Kitty said. "I don't really get it, but whatever."

They flew at an unsteady pace. Rogue noticed that whenever she passed cities, even though she was skies above them, she was able to fly faster. So their travel speed was sporadic at best. Finally, the metallic disk beeped.

"We're almost there," Rogue said.

They saw a sliver of land on the horizon. The wind was bitingly cold against their cheeks. It couldn't really even be considered an island, just an oversized rock in the middle of the ocean. Rogue felt magnetic pulses radiating around the vicinity. She could sense a lot of metallic forces coming from the island. As she pulled in closer, suddenly the Forge's metal walkie-talkie made a loud pop, and flew off a mile backwards as if somebody had swatted it away with a racket. Then with a thud, Rogue collided with some invisible force field that hurled her body back wards along with Kitty's. She recovered in the air and refastened her grip on Kitty.

"What the heck just happened?" Kitty screamed, dizzied by the sudden aeronautic thrust.

"It's like he has some kind of magnetic force field!" Rogue yelled back against the wind. "Anythin' metal can't get through, and Ah'm generatin' too much opposite charge!"

"What do we do now?" Kitty asked, gripping tightly onto Rogue's arms around her.

*Remy?*

*Jean can fly. But we might need her telepathy later. T'ink Stormy has enough t'get us dere.*

*Okay.*

She felt the prickly static shocks subside. They popped and fizzled away and then, she couldn't feel the charged air anymore, instead she felt a brief pause and suddenly it felt like somebody had pulled the ground out from below her, as she plummeted down from the air. They screamed.

Just before they hit the water, Rogue yanked on Kitty and willed herself to pull up. With a frightening   


hesitation, she felt a spray of icy cold ocean water splash against her face, and then a sudden rush of air, as she swooped in a wide arc up away from the ocean below. The wind carried her in, and the flat surface of the rock loomed below them, closer and closer, until they could toe it. But the wind wouldn't stop. Her body lifted up a few feet from the surface of the wet stone below them, then suddenly, Stormy's power cut out, and Kitty and Rogue slammed down in a rough and tumble landing.

"Owww…" Kitty groaned, massaging her shoulder.

*Got to work on de landing a little, chere.*

*Tryin' my best, so keep your comments t'yourself, Cajun,* Rogue hissed. She picked herself up, stumbled to Kitty's side and helped her up.

"Now what?" Kitty asked, wiping off water and perspiration from her brow. "Now we sneak in," Rogue said.

"Where?" Kitty asked, looking at the barren rock which they had landed. "Like I don't see any entrance signs."

"Quick, duck!" Rogue yelled, as she grabbed Kitty and hid behind a boulder. Kitty phased through the rock and peered out at the sea. Helicopters were approaching.

"I think they're the same guys that tried to attack us," Kitty said. "Man, if we knew they were coming here, maybe we should have just let them take us."

"Yeah, and what good are we if they inject the demutagen in us?" "Oh, right, good point."

The helicopters flew in, whipping up the ocean water and sending tiny gravel to pirouette in the air. It hovered a few yards above them, and suddenly, the whole island began to rumble. The top surface of the rock parted open to reveal a dark hole. One after another, the helicopters descended into the darkness.

"Look at that," Kitty whistled. "The rock is the building." "How charmin'," Rogue commented.

"Ready to go in?" Kitty asked. "After you."

Kitty took Rogue by the hand, and phased through the ground and into the hollowed base below.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunning's Original Author's Note:  
> Hi everybody. Here's the 23rd chapter of this epic tale. Man, it's so gettin' epic.  
> Again I have to abstain from any long comments considering I have class in about 10 minutes and I'd rather use that time to upload the chapter.  
> Just as a clarification, Rogue says she absorbed Forge in this fic. I'm pretty sure she didn't ever. Not in Evo and not in the Fox cartoon and I don't think she even did in the comics. But anyway, I just made
> 
> that up. I figure it's only fanfiction, so it's okay.  
> Okay, I'll try to keep you well updated. Oh and I'm sorry to say it, but there won't be too much mush the coming few chapters... mostly action. But I'll try to make it good action to make it worthwhile reading.  
> Thanks for the reviews, as always they're very inspiring!


	24. Control

The powerful whirring of the helicopter rotors reverberated off the walls of the dark lair. Onyx- colored stalactites were momentarily immersed in the bright headlights of the helicopter, as both vehicles landed onto a circular pad that was lit around the circumference in blue. The rotors hummed and slowed to a complete stop as the men in black uniforms bounded out into the launch pad and proceeded to line up in attention. Four of them including both pilots stood, straight-backed and alert. Four other men were involved in carrying out the injured from the helicopters. Above them, the sky disappeared as the hidden entrance into the underground hangar slowly sealed shut. Once closed, lights winked on from the inside, illuminating the helicopters and the lofty but dank hangar. The sound of footsteps echoed and a tall, pale man made his way to the soldiers. His garbs were strange dark tatters that looked like added limbs rather than clothes. His eyes, pupil-less, were a pool of sanguinary red and a strange red mark decorated his mid-brow.

"Where are they?" he asked. His voice was raspy and thin, yet strangely projected enough to clearly distinguish each utterance from his sinuous tongue.

"We were unable to find them, sir," one of the helicopter pilots bravely answered.

"Unable to find them?" he repeated. He sounded calm but ironically evoked a silent rage. "Unable to find them," he said again.

"Yes, sir. There was some unprecedented fog that cut our vision almost up to 100%…"

"Two girls, my dear captain. Are you telling me twenty of your best and brightest cannot even bring in two high school girls?" he asked with an air of nonchalance.

"We have no excuse, sir."

"Indeed," he looked upon the stretchers of men being hauled out of the helicopter and turned his head away in disgust. "Pitiful humans."

He began to walk out, the tails of his strange clothes fluttering behind him. The men looked upon each other nervously. Finally, the pilot stepped up again.

"Sir, your orders?" he asked.

The man stopped in a steel doorframe set inside the wall of the rock. "Regroup and find them," he said simply, barely moving his head to look behind his shoulder. "And this time I want them here. Either dead or alive."

"Dead? But sir, the demutagen will not spread if they are dead," the pilot started.

"All I need is a DNA sample. Now that Magneto is out of the way, the mutants themselves are of no use to me anymore and I do not need to do my work in vivo," he replied evenly. "Will there be any more questions, Captain?"

"No, sir."

"Good. Let's keep it that way."   


He pushed open the door and left.

*

*

Rogue and Kitty rushed into another room. This one was brightly lit with white-washed walls and the air was comfortably dry and air-conditioned. The far wall had three clocks, each designating a different time and to the right there was a glass door that led into a filing room of some sort with large filing cabinets lining the walls of the entire room. Kitty looked around discreetly and finding nobody in it, she slipped out from the wall and tugged Rogue in as well.

Rogue let go of Kitty and leaned against the wall, pursing her lips in thought.

"So I'm thinkin' that the creepy guy is Nathaniel Essex, he totally doesn't look like the geeky science type." Kitty said.

They had overheard the conversation between the doctor and the helicopter pilot.

"Yeah," Rogue confirmed. "Did ya hear what he said though? He said that Magneto's out of the way now. And that he doesn't need the mutants alive."

"Did he kill Magneto?" Kitty asked.

"Ah don't know, but this guy is bad news if he can take down Magneto and the X-men and a whole slough of other mutants."

"Oh man, does this mean… the X-men…?" Kitty stopped, unable to finish the morbid thought.

"Ah don't think they're dead. That was the first time the pilot got orders to kill a mutant, so Ah'm guessin' the X-men might have gotten demutagenized but not killed."

Kitty paled. "Demutagenized…"

"There's an antidote, Kitty. As long as they're not dead, they can be cured. But we gotta find them." "We don't even know what the antidote looks like, Rogue," Kitty reminded, her eyes filled with worry. "Don't worry, Ah'll think of something," Rogue said, confidently enough that Kitty gulped and nodded. "So what do we do?"

"Go search, room by room, to see if you can find anybody, clues or anything," Rogue ordered. "What about you?"

"Ah'll check out this room."

"Rogue, is it a good idea to separate? How are we going to like keep in touch, we don't even have communicators."

"Ah'll contact you, telepathically if anything happens."   


"What?"

"Ah can use Jean's telepathy."

"Oh," Kitty paused to think. "Why can't we try contacting the Professor or Jean that way?" "Ah already tried. They're not answerin'," Rogue said.

"Oh okay," Kitty replied, a little jittery. Rogue could tell she was trying hard not to panic.

"It's gonna be fine, Kitty, just keep your cool." Rogue gave her a firm squeeze in the shoulder. "Remember, the demutagen can't touch you, you frickin' phase through everythin'. If you can just try to keep your wits, then you're the most invincible out of all of us."

"Right… hey Rogue?" Kitty looked at Rogue, a little hesitant. "Since you can use other people's powers, do you want some of mine? I'll let you absorb it from me."

Rogue shook her head. "Ah can't risk havin' you woozy. Thanks though." Kitty nodded, and wishing Rogue luck, she phased through the wall.

*Chere, you quite amazing, y'know dat?* Remy said, after awhile.

*And why do you say that?* Rogue asked, tensed and combing through the contents of the room. A steel operating table, lights directly above it and some storage jars with different chemical labels attached.

*I don' know, you dealin' pretty well wit some pretty scary stuff.*

*Remy, this isn't me dealin'. This is me not thinkin'. If Ah stop to think then Ah Ah gather Ah'll just pass out or puke or just go plain crazy.*

She walked around, shuffling through some papers that had scientific mumbo-jumbo that she couldn't make heads or tails out of. Her footsteps echoed as she crossed the room. She pulled the glass door open and entered the room with the filing cabinets. It was chilly in there. Looking around at the heavy- duty file drawers, she noticed each of them had a barcode on the front. Reaching up, she grabbed a handle and pulled, but they were locked. She tried some others, but they were all locked. Until she got to one, and it slid open heavily.

Piotr's face peered up at her.

She jolted back. Immediately, her knees gave away. She fell onto the floor, clamping her mouth shut with both hands so she would suffocate the scream that threatened to ring around the whole compound. Her heart pounded against her chest so hard that she was afraid it might succeed in bursting out. She clenched her eyes shut and tried to force herself to stay calm, but the image of his face. His unseeing eyes looking up at her in a dead stupor. It made her skin crawl.

*You okay?* Remy asked. She could sense that he was a little shaken himself.

*Just… just give me a sec,* Rogue gasped. She took deep breaths and opened her eyes.

Slowly, she got up and walked over to Piotr's body, tucked away in a file drawer, barcoded with an item number.   


*Is this a morgue?* Rogue asked, looking at the tidy little room. The thought that each cabinet was holding a corpse sent disturbing chills through her body.

*Check his pulse,* Remy responded.

She reached down with a shaky hand, pressed two fingers on the jugular artery of his thick, corded neck. The flesh was cold against her touch. But then, she felt a bump. And then another. It was a pulse.

*Oh my Gawd, he's alive.*

She felt Remy breathe a sigh of relief. But now she was just inundated with questions. Why were mutants being collected, demutagenized and then filed away in filing cabinets? Who was Essex? What happened to Magneto? What happened to the X-men? She looked down to find her fingers still pressed onto the side of his throat. She removed it slowly.

*Hey Remy,* Rogue said, her voice slightly numb with shock, but she kept her thoughts ordered. *Ah'm gonna absorb Piotr.*

*What?*

*If Ah absorb him, then we can get some more answers. Ah don't have ta absorb all of him. Just enough to know what the heck happened to the Acolytes and how Magneto's connected with Essex.*

*As long as you can handle it, chere, it's fine with me.*

*Get the psyches ready.*

*Dey won't disturb you, just do what y'gotta do.*

Rogue nodded. She reached up and placed the tips of her fingers gently on the side of Piotr's face. But nothing happened.

She lifted up her fingers and tried again, but nothing was absorbing.

*What the heck? How come it's not workin'?*

*De psyches ain't de ones absorbing. You're absorbing. You have t'will your own powers t'work now.*

She tapped the side of his face with her fingers in frustration. *What do ya mean 'will it to work'? Ah just touch and it works!*

*Dat was how it worked under de psyches' control, but at one point, it was you who brought in de first few psyches.*

*Remy, Ah'm tellin' the truth, here. Ah never had control over it, Ah just touched and it would absorb.*

*Den try t'remember de first time. How did it work de first time you absorbed somebody?*

*Oh crap. Ah don't remember.*

*Chere…* Remy said, his voice deep and consoling. Then, it changed, a little forceful but still   


understanding. *I know you do.*

Of course she did. She remembered every single breath of that horrible memory. No matter how much she pushed it away. It would always haunt her to her dying day. It was just so painful to recall. Her breathing quickened a pace, and she felt cornered.

*Chere, you don' have t'tell me if y'uncomfortable…*

Rogue slowly sank until she was sitting upon her haunches, her knees drawn up protectively over her. She never confronted this demon in her head. It was always there, and so many horrible thoughts of anguish loomed over her memories of her childhood that it seemed that she had never been a child, never happy nor carefree. It wasn't one memory. It was a collective. A collective of convoluted fears that constituted her entire childhood.

*You don' have t'absorb Piotr, we'll find another way…* Remy tried again. Rogue shook her head, her eyelashes pointed down, and her hair fell into her face.

*Ah was ten,* she said finally, her voice distant and morose. *There was this boy who moved in next to our house. And we met in a park. Ah didn't even know his name until Ah absorbed him. His name was Cody. And he was the first. We were best friends, Cody and me. My momma always thought he was one of those imaginary friends, but he was real to me. Ah made a lot of friends even after Cody, but they were all in my head. Ah found out later that every time Ah made a new friend, somebody got hurt. But it didn't mean anything to me, because they were fine inside my head.

And then this one time, Ah saw Momma cryin'. She wouldn't tell me why she was. Ah remember thinkin' it was my fault. Daddy had left, and it was probably my fault that Daddy left her, but Ah don't really remember him that much. And Ah just wanted to know what she was feelin' and maybe if Ah knew what was makin' her cry, then Ah could fix it. But when Ah touched her, Ah absorbed her. We always touched and Ah never absorbed her before, but this time, she just fell out of her chair. When the paramedics came, they took her away. Irene later told me that she died of too much alcohol, but Ah could see all of her thoughts. And why she was hurtin', and so Ah knew. Ah knew that Ah was the one who killed her. After that, Ah was sent off to an orphanage, and that's when the voices started hurtin' me. They kept on makin' me remember. The kiss with Cody, all of my friends and Momma's tears most of all. They wouldn't stop buggin' me, and Ah just wanted to be left alone…*

Rogue finished, looking unfocusedly at Piotr's body in front of her. Old images passed before her eyes. She never told this to anyone. In a way, she never even formulated this thought even to herself. If she had confronted her own fearful memories, then the answers to her powers would have been apparent. The solution was in her mind all along. She reached down with her hand, placed it on Piotr's neck and felt his pulse, cold and labored. Then closing her eyes, she pulled at his psyche, made it melt and open up to her.

Fear had always held her back. Fear of her powers. What kind of pain they could cause. She had no fear when she was a child, not realizing the consequences. But when she did realize the consequences, the fear, the guilt and the pain of knowing her mother's darkest thoughts, traumatized her so much that she shuddered away from her powers and what they were capable of. Her psyches, once her best friends, now her worst enemies, had taken over them.

At her touch, Piotr's mind opened up to her. There was no bombardment of memories. There was no screaming in her ears. There was nothing to be afraid of. She was conscious of everything. Sorting   


through his mind, she pulled out what she needed, Piotr's most recent memories. She stopped when it got to his past or his darker and more guarded secrets, for she only needed the ones regarding the demutagen. His pulse raced underneath her fingers and now began to tire, so she broke the connection before she drained too much life energy.

When she opened her eyes, her fingers were still on his throat, but they were absorbing nothing.

*Remy? Are you okay?*

*Oui. How 'bout you, chere? You okay?*

*Yeah. Ah'll be fine. Did you get everythin' from Piotr?*

*Oui. Not sure how long it'll take f'him t'settle down though. Piotr's memories, dey be heavy stuff, non?

*

*Yeah… Sabretooth must have demutagenated Pyro that night. Ah bet he was tryin' to get you, too, if the X-men didn't show up.*

*Except I saved him de trouble an' got demutagen on m'self. John told me t'watch out f'Creed… just couldn't take de boy seriously when he was givin' me de googly eye. But I remember Creed trying t'claim dat it was the X-men's fault for Pyro's sickness.*

*Why try to frame the X-men? If he knew you were going to be demutagenated too?*

*Maybe because of de T'ieves Guild? Magneto must have told Creed t'cover all de bases.*

*So Magneto was workin' with Essex all along.*

*Seems so. But Essex said he took care of Magneto. M'not sure what dat means exactly, but m't'inking whatever agreement Magneto made with Essex, Essex decided t'break it.*

*So, now what?*

*So, now we save mutantkind.*

*Right, easier said than done,* Rogue replied. *What do we do with Piotr?*

*Leave him here f'now. We got t'go find Kitty an' t'ink of a battle plan t'take down Essex.*

*We still don't know why Essex is doing all of this with the demutagen and what he plans to do with the bodies,* Rogue said. She looked down at Piotr, her hand still resting over his exposed skin. She thought about her powers again. How she had control over them now. But it tasted bitter. So many ugly memories.

*Rogue.*

*Yeah?*

*You think you gon' be okay?*

*No thinkin', remember?* Rogue smiled humorlessly.   


*Right. No t'inking. After dis, we take a long vacation, non? Just you an' me, on a warm beach, an' we do all our t'inking dere.*

*Yes, Ah'm sure we can get a lot of thinking done with just you and me on a beach,* Rogue replied sarcastically.

*Y'know I was really only plannin' on doing not'ing but t'inking, but whatever you're imaginin' seems a lot funner,* he said, then lowered his voice in a hush. *Is dis one of dem naughty t'oughts dat X-men girls have?*

*Think we need to save mutantkind first,* Rogue said, clearing her throat.

*Fine, if you gon' make me work f'it.*

*Would you stop talkin' an' help me use Jean to contact Kitty?* Rogue said in flushed exasperation.

*Ah swear, it could be the end of the world as we know it, and you still find room to make fun of me.*

*M'not makin' fun o' you, jus' want t'have fun wit you. Dere's a difference.*

*Well, if Ah'm not havin' fun, then there is no difference,* she snapped, it came out a little more biting than she was meaning to.

*Y'mad at me, chere?* he asked, then his voice melted into that husky sultriness. * 'Cause it's turnin' me on.*

*Pissin' me off turns you on? What kind of sadistic streak is that?*

*Just use your imagination. I know y'can,* he teased.

Rogue stopped and actually forced herself not to use her imagination. She shook her head sharply and tried to focus on contacting Kitty.

*Give an arm and a leg t'see you blushin' right about now.*

*It can be arranged,* Rogue warned. *Now please help me contact Kitty?*

*Anyt'ing f'de pretty lady.*

Rogue sighed in exasperation, but she failed to realize, that amidst battling Remy's maddening come- ons, she completely forgot about the resurfaced memory of her tragic past.

Finally, the sensation of Jean's power washed over her. Focusing on Kitty's image, she projected her thoughts to Kitty.

*Kitty, can ya hear me? Where are ya?* "I'm right here!"

Rogue twisted her head around to find Kitty's upper torso and one arm protruding from the wall they entered from.

"And guess who I found?" Kitty chimed, her voice cheerier than when they parted.   


Kitty reached in the other arm, and heaving something across the barrier of the wall, she pulled in a limp form of a man. He looked up and grinned at Rogue.

"Logan!" Rogue cried, and she could have danced for joy at seeing his cynically jocular grimace.

"So I'm guessin' this is the whole of the rescue team?" he croaked as he reached up to wipe some blood off a torn lip. He was bruised and cut in numerous other places, all in various stages of healing, and his uniform was in a dish-rag state.

"Ya look like hell, Logan," Rogue said, as she propped his arm over her shoulders.

"Sorry I couldn't make myself presentable for yer Majesties… was kinda busy," he grumbled sarcastically.

"I found him half-dead over Sabretooth," Kitty said, holding up Wolverine's other arm over her shoulders.

"Sabretooth?" Rogue asked in alarm.

"Don't worry, he's in worse shape than me," Logan reassured. "Where is Sabretooth now?" Rogue asked.

"He's in a cell where they jailed all of us, had some kind of mutant power negation," Logan informed. "One of the labcoats came around and injected us with demutagen."

"You, too?" Rogue asked.

He nodded. "Me, too. But for some reason, it's not affectin' me."

To prove his point, he extended his claws that popped out from his knuckles like sharp daggers. He retracted them and clenched and unclenched his hand.

"Sabretooth must have been ordered to take care of me. Didn't really go as planned," he said. "Ah don't get it. Ordered by whom?" Rogue asked.

"I don't know, probably his boss, Magneto," Logan shrugged. Rogue bit her lip. None of this made sense.

"Did you find anything out?" Kitty asked, directing the question at Rogue. Rogue nodded. "Yeah, Ah found Piotr."

"What? Where?" Kitty asked.

"He's filed away in that room behind me," Rogue said, jerking a thumb at the morgue-like room. "Omigosh, is he dead?" Kitty asked, a hand flying to her mouth.

"No, he's alive. And Ah absorbed him. Piotr overheard Magneto and Essex talkin' about the demutagen. Apparently, Essex can use the demutagen to remove the mutant gene and then enhance the   


mutant power. Then usin' the antidote, they can reinsert the mutant gene back into the body, and Ah guess then Magneto can fashion himself an army of super mutants to help his cause. Piotr heard them discussin' about usin' the process on all mutants, starting with the Acolytes first.

"Eventually, Magneto must have agreed to the plan, because Essex sent his men to Hartwell Labs' chemical plant in Bayville that night to steal enough demutagen to use on the whole mutant community. Magneto ordered Remy and Pyro to follow them. After Remy and Pyro left, Sabretooth went and demutagenated all the Acolytes. Then, Essex and Magneto transported all the Acolytes somewhere, which was probably here, in these file cabinets. After that, Sabretooth went after Remy and Pyro."

"Why send out Remy and Pyro first?"

"Pyro was just a tag-a-long. But Remy has some political ties that can get Magneto in trouble. It was important for Remy's demutagenation to look like an accident."

"What kind of political ties?" Logan asked, his eyes narrowed.

Rogue shrugged, not wanting to divulge anything as complicated as the Thieves Guild.

"You got all this from absorbin' that guy?" Logan said, with a tinge of skepticism, indicating Piotr's prostrated form inside the steel drawer. "If he knew the Acolytes were going to get demutagenized, why didn't he do anything about it?"

Rogue shrugged. "He wanted to. But it happened all that night. Soon after the conversation, Essex gave the go-ahead to his men to steal from Hartwell Labs. Remy left the base with Pyro after him, and Sabretooth and Magneto went around demutagenizing the whole base. Piotr's memory is hazy after he got demutagenized himself. When Sabretooth injected him, Piotr turned into Colossus and broke the needle with his armored skin. So Piotr was able to escape, but the demutagen still spread in him, albeit slowly. He was able to hide-out, but Essex sent his men after him and that's when Ah found him at the Acolyte base. After that, he doesn't have much memory. He doesn't even remember escapin' from the base or bein' brought into the X-mansion."

"Wait, Rogue. Essex said that he took care of Magneto so they didn't have to keep the bodies of the mutants anymore, right? Does that mean Essex betrayed Magneto into thinking that he was going to make an army of supermutants for him?" Kitty asked.

"Ah'm not really sure what Essex's agenda is. But if he doesn't need the bodies anymore, then the mutants are in more trouble than before when Magneto was in charge," Rogue replied.

"If Mags is out of power," Logan started, standing on his own now. "Then who's Sabretooth takin' orders from?"

Kitty and Rogue went quiet.

"We're wastin' time by talkin'," Rogue concluded in frustration. They were still walking around in the dark. "We need to act fast before Essex's men come back and before Essex decides to kill off any mutants."

"Right. So what do we do?" Kitty asked.

"Logan, Mr. McCoy said there was an antidote. Do you know what it is?" Rogue asked.   


"Hank mentioned it, but he couldn't get into much detail," Logan said. "Oh great, now what?" Kitty wailed in dismay.

"We find Mags," Logan said. "He knows the most out of all of us, and he's gonna be pissed after he's been double-crossed by Essex. And I suggest while they duke it out, we find the others and get them cured."

Rogue nodded. "Logan, you find Magneto. Kitty, you find the Blackbird and where everybody is. And Ah'll find the antidote. We'll meet at the hangar in thirty minutes."

"How are you going to find the antidote if you don't know what it looks like?" Kitty asked. "Ah keep absorbin' until Ah find someone who knows," Rogue said.

Kitty's face fell, what Rogue wanted to attempt was dangerous. "Rogue, are you sure you can handle that many voices…?"

"Ah'll be fine, Kitty," Rogue said. "But…" Kitty started.

Logan put a hand on Kitty's shoulder. "Look, Half-pint, we don't have much options here. If Stripes says she can take care of herself, you just worry about your own back."

Kitty looked at Logan, then at Rogue. She then quickly hugged Rogue, gave her a tight squeeze and let go. "Good luck," she said. "Anything goes wrong, just scream and I'll be there."

Rogue nodded. Kitty phased through the wall. Logan gave Rogue a nod, and bounded out the door. Rogue took a deep breath.

*Who do you have in mind t'absorb first, chere?* Remy asked.

*Essex.*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunning's Original Author's Note:  
> Hello, everybody. This chapter took me forever to write. Basically because this is the whole mystery behind the demutagen slowly being solved and I wasn't sure how I was going to present it. If you don't get it, I don't blame you. We just know at this point that Essex and Magneto had a deal and that Essex betrayed Magneto. He might have killed him, demutagenated him or locked and bound him in plastic. Who knows...? There's still more to come with what really happened with all the X-men, whether the Morlocks or any other mutants are around, more with Sabretooth, Pyro and Essex.  
> I took a different approach to Rogue's past. I'm sure nobody minds. If you mind terribly, then a thousand apologies. I think that whole dealing with Cody was overdone. I think dealing with killing your own mother is more traumatic, don't you think?  
> Hmmmm... what else?  
> I'm thinking of doing the shout-outs, but considering most of your reviews are along the lines of "Update soon or I'll kill you", I really have nothing to answer to except for "Here you go, please don't kill me."  
> But I'd like to welcome Tevrah. Thanks for reading all of it. To "No one in particular," I'd like to say
> 
> that since Rogue could fly in real life she doesn't really have to fly in her dreams... but I guess it'd be pretty cool if she could fly with Gambit. But for some reason, I think Gambit has other things in mind when he's with Rogue. I'll let you interpret that any way you want it. (But what could be better than flying?)  
> So, yeah, that's about it. If I don't sound enthused, it's probably because I haven't eaten anything except for coffee and an orange the whole day. So I'm gonna go feed myself, and you guys read and tell me what you think. Sounds like a plan!  
> Tootles~


	25. Burnout

Kitty found the Blackbird in the far end of the helicopter hangar that they had entered from. The hangar was empty, the men had replenished supplies and manpower to go and hunt down Kitty and Rogue. The Blackbird was shrouded in darkness. She did not even notice that it was there until she practically phased into the control cabin. Sitting in the first pilot seat, she switched on the mainboard. The computer hummed to life, and the neon blue cabin lights flickered on, then dimmed. She gauged her fuel supply and breathed a sigh of relief to find it three quarters full.

"Okay," she breathed to herself. "Now I just go find my passengers."

Phasing down from the cockpit, out of the plane, and into the floor below, she came into a random room that looked similar to the one she was in with Rogue before. While on her search around the complex, she began to get a feel for the layout. The lair was three stories deep. The hangar was the only level that was above sea level and had the most room in length, width and depth. The level below the hangar held long but narrow rooms with the same file cabinets lining the walls. The only room she got to visit on the lowest floor was the moist and humid cellar where she had found Logan and Sabretooth.

Phasing into the second floor, she walked into a room, looking at a wall of filing cabinet drawers that she could now disturbingly recognize as the holding cells which housed her friends. She chose one in random. She grabbed the handle and yanked at it, but it was locked. She tried another and most of them were all locked. Fingering a small octagonal keyhole on the side of the handle, she slid her hand through the drawer and immediately her hand touched something. She felt her powers transfer. It was a body. And it was furry.

Clenching her jaw and eyes shut, she put both of her arms in and locking her elbows below the person's arms, she tugged the body out. Her heart gave a jolt.

"Kurt!" Kitty yelped. "Oh Kurt…" She pulled his body out, detaching the suction cups that were hooked onto him. He fell limp onto the floor and she pulled his arm around her neck and half-dragged him as she phased out of the room, up where the Blackbird was.

She gritted her teeth in anger. Whoever did this was going to pay. Pulling him into the cabin on the Blackbird, she gently placed Kurt's body in one of the chairs and buckled him in. She grumbled curses, feeling her blood rise. Suddenly, Kurt's body shifted and his eyes batted open.

"Keety…?"

Her shoulders lifted in a spasm. Then realizing Kurt was looking at her, she gripped him by the shoulders. "Kurt! You're alive! I mean, awake! I mean, you can talk!"

He closed his eyes and nodded. Then his face fell into a grimace. "Keety, they injected me with demutagen… my powers… they're gone," he whispered.

"I know, but we'll get them back, I promise, like me and Rogue and Mr. Logan, we've got it totally covered, so don't you worry you're furry blue head," Kitty said.

"What da hell… I'm still furry and blue? Life's not fair," he joked, but his voice was feeble. She smiled reassuringly. "I have to go get the others. You just stay put, kay?"   


"Kay."

She turned away from him and felt the pressure build on the bridge of her nose, she quickly bit her lip and blinked so that she wouldn't tear up. Kurt's blue fur was falling out. He was shedding. No, it was more like he was malting. There were missing patches of fur all over his body, the skin it exposed looking sickly pale and green from the lack of ever being exposed to the sun. Whenever she handled him, his skin sloughed off onto her hands. Suppressing the shudder, she breathed to control her emotions that flew back and forth from despair to rage. Tightening her hands into fists, she phased out of the Blackbird. When her toes touched the floor of the hangar, she noticed somebody at the end of the room, his face shrouded in darkness. She looked up. And his body turned to face her.

He stood, his posture a little askew. He walked towards her into the light. Kitty gasped. "Pyro."

*

Sabretooth groaned. Something was prodding him in the back. He writhed, his body in pain. Suddenly, a splash of water drenched the fur on his face and neck, and he blinked out the water, the cold liquid seeping into his open wounds. He growled and looked up. When his eyes fell into focus, he discerned a figure looming over him. Sabretooth squinted.

Wolverine grinned down with humorless eyes. "Mornin' Sunshine," he grunted.

Sabretooth shot up with a growl and slammed his body onto the bars separating him and Wolverine. The bars shook under his grip.

"No use tryin' to get out the hard way. Your powers are bein' negated," Wolverine informed, leaning in front of Sabretooth's cage. He stopped and looked at Sabretooth askance. "What is your power anyway?"

Sabretooth went silent then broke into a mocking laugh that breathed fire and contempt. "You ain't keepin' me in here long," he hissed venomously.

"So, what happened, Creed? You double-cross Mags?" Wolverine asked, ignoring Sabretooth's threat. "I ain't tellin' ya nothin'."

"If you do, I'll let you out."

Sabretooth stared at Wolverine, his eyes clouded with mistrust and suspicion. "Now why would you do something stupid like that?"

"Figure I beat you once and I could probably beat you again." Sabretooth narrowed his eyes and growled, baring his sharp teeth. "I'm offerin' you a partnership."

"I ain't gonna work with the likes of you."

"Trust me, bub, the feeling's mutual," Wolverine grumbled. Then he squatted in front of Sabretooth's   


confinement. "But what we're up against now, this Essex fella, he don't seem like good news in either of our camps."

"You don't know anythin'," Sabretooth spat, smirking with distaste.

"Maybe I don't, but you want to know why I think you double-crossed Mags?"

Sabretooth looked away, as if he was disinterested. But Wolverine continued. "I think you were afraid."

"Afraid of what?" Sabretooth barked up, slamming his body up against the bars again.

"Mags' supermutant idea. He got Essex to do some freaky stuff to his mutants so that they stronger and more loyal. But where does that put you? Yer body rejects the demutagen. You can't become strong even if ya wanted to, and among the supermutants, yer nothin' but the weak one."

"I ain't weak! And I ain't afraid!" snarled Sabretooth.

"No. Not now. But how would you, or me, compare up to them scientifically engineered mutants, eh?" Wolverine dipped in close, so that he could almost discern his reflection against Sabretooth's coal- black eyes. "Don't know about you, but that don't sit pretty with me."

Sabretooth went silent.

"So then you sold out Mags. Because Essex don't care about any supermutants. He could care less about the mutant, just their DNA. And that sits fine with you, because a buncha lab rat mutants ain't no threat to ya. Always savin' yer own skin, right Creed?"

"You ain't any different, so don't give me that high an' mighty talk!" Sabretooth spat. Wolverine nodded, rubbing the stubble on his chin. "Yer right. But yer wrong about Essex." "And you talk too much."

"What do you think Essex gonna do with the mutant DNA? Keep 'em around as trophies?" "Not my business."

"What about if he finds a new way to take you down? A new an' improved demutagen? Or maybe he makes a new supermutant army fer himself? Or maybe he injects himself with something that makes him a supermutant? You don't know him, so how can you trust him?"

"I don't."

"So right now, Essex is thinkin' he got all the mutants under his control. Even got you domesticated." Sabretooth snarled at Wolverine again.

"Don't want no labcoat to make a pussycat out of ya now, do ya? Or is he payin' ya? Is he payin' ya off, Creed?"

Sabretooth's lip curled, but his eyes shifted to the side.   


"Not even getting the money, I see. So you just be nice an' don't get in the doctor's way, and he lets you live. Is that how it is, Creed?"

"What's yer deal, Wolverine?" Sabretooth growled in annoyance. "So yer helpin' me?" Wolverine asked.

"What's yer deal?" Sabretooth yelled, almost foaming at the mouth. "Tell me where Essex stashed Mags."

"Why?"

"Because he got us into this mess, an' he should get us out." "What else?"

"What else what?"

"What else do you want from me?"

"Nothin', that's it. You lead me to Mags and you can leave. Unless you wanna stick around an' help us." Sabretooth snarled again.

"Didn't think so." Wolverine moved over to an electronic padlock. It was the padlock that was generating a radius of mutant negation within the confines of the bars. It wasn't very effective in the long run, but its job was only to detain the mutants long enough until the demutagen would permanently remove their powers. Pulling out his claws, he thrusted the admantium steel straight into the core of the machinery. The computerized padlock popped and then fell away into a useless piece of scrap metal. Sabretooth slammed out of the cell. Wolverine calmly stood to the side.

Grunting in dissatisfaction, Sabretooth began to powerfully stride across the room and out the door. Wolverine followed.

Sabretooth wasn't Wolverine's first choice for help. Originally, he was planning on to find Magneto by the way of his nose. He picked up on Magneto's scent early on, but the problem was that it was concentrated everywhere. It was as if the whole compound was spritzed with eau de Magneto. He couldn't get the correct scent that would lead to Magneto's body, if there even was a body.

They walked across the dark, humid cellar until Sabretooth paused in front of a large door. "He's in there," Sabretooth grumbled.

Wolverine raised an eyebrow. He couldn't help but wonder what Magneto was doing holed up in a dark cellar. Was he demutagenized like the rest? Even Xavier was demutagenized by Essex. For some reason, Logan thought, maybe even the whole of the X-men thought, that Xavier might have been immune. But Charles also went down, and seeing their professor suffering from the demutagen was morally defeating for the students to watch.

Without further hesitation, Wolverine unsheathed his claws and stabbed it into the lock on the door then twisted his wrist to dismantle it. Kicking the door open, he and Sabretooth rushed in. Suddenly,   


all the fine hairs on both Wolverine and Sabretooth's body stood on end and fizzled and popped with static. Bursts of static energy exploded against their skin that they had to squint to see where the energy was generating from.

Magneto was lying down half-clothed, in a spread-eagle fashion on a large metal grid. His arms and legs bound down tight with magnetically charged conduits. When they got closer, they noticed that there were needles sticking out of the grid that pierced into his skin. He was lying down on a bed of acupuncture needles. The needles were made of zinc and the bed looked like copper. Several power lines protruded from the grid.

"They're usin' him as a frickin' battery," Wolverine said under his breath. No wonder he couldn't pick up the scent of Magneto. He was charging the whole building with the energy conducted in his body. Everything electrically powered had smelled like Magneto.

Sabretooth looked at the prone form of Magneto. By the way Sabretooth looked, the disturbed glint in his eyes, Wolverine gathered that even Sabretooth did not know what Essex had in plan with Magneto's body. Sabretooth stepped forward, then with a sudden show of bravado, he grabbed the power lines and pulled it out from the table. Showers of sparks exploded all around them, as electricity surged across the room. Peeling Magneto's body off the oversized waffle-iron, Sabretooth shouldered the body and turned to Wolverine.

"Don't think the old man is up to save yer skin," Sabretooth said, grinning maliciously.

Wolverine had to agree. Magneto was in a worse state than those demutagenized, his eyes were open, flipped back in their sockets and drooling in the mouth. It didn't look like he was going to come to and offer any helpful tips any time soon. Wolverine pinched his eyebrows together. He didn't have much time.

Suddenly, the lights wavered and the whole of the compound went pitch black. Logan cursed. Without the battery, there was no electricity in the whole building and Essex wouldn't be too happy about that. If they were getting out, they had to get out now.

"The hangar. Get him into the Blackbird," Wolverine ordered. He heard Sabretooth grunt in agreement and they both bounded out of the room. Sabretooth, with Magneto's body slumped over his shoulder, was more familiar with the area, so he paced around the darkness and took the lead towards the stairwell. Wolverine followed him by smell.

*

*

"Pyro," Kitty breathed.

He walked to her slowly, his eyes lazy and nonchalant, but his body movements were precise and calculated for attack. Old bandages hung off his arms and neck, making him look like a half-gauzed mummy.

"You do not belong here," he said.

Kitty didn't know Pyro too well, but she definitely remembered he had an Australian accent. This Pyro had no Australian accent. It was as if he was completely brainwashed.   


"Look, Pyro. No, John. Your name is John, right?" Kitty tried, slowly pacing backwards as Pyro approached her. "I don't know what they did to you, but I'm not the enemy. Essex is the enemy. He did this to you."

He stopped when he got exactly six feet away from her. She fingered a wall behind her and stepped back to fully press the whole of her back against it. His right shoulder lifted, and he outstretched his arm so that she could see the white palm of his hand, his five fingers extended out and away from each other. Kitty swallowed, noting that Pyro did not have his fuel tanks strapped onto him or his hoses. This probably meant that he was that much weaker without them. She pressed her hands flat onto the bumpy surface of the rocky wall behind her.

She let out a shaky breath. "I'm not going to hurt you. But Essex will. You have to help me." He kept his eyes on her, his lids drooping over his pupils. He cocked his head to the side. "You," he said. "Do not belong here."

Fire swirled from his hands and shot out with incredible thrust and heat that raged towards Kitty, as she threw her body into the wall. Flames rolled against the rocks, the heat so hot that it was melting the rock and causing it to drip into hot magma. Kitty rose up from the floor behind Pyro and lifting her right leg, kicked her shin into the crook of his knees. His knees gave forward, stumbling him. Pyro recovered, pushing his legs up and spinning around, his arm sweeping across the air in one smooth, pivotal motion. Red, hot fire pierced threw the air like lasers and Kitty barely remembered to let her body phase it through. Suddenly, she felt a burning pain in her shoulder. She gasped and clutched at it, it wasn't bleeding or torn or burnt, but it hurt as if it was boiling from the inside. Pyro's fire was so hot entering into her that it was managing to heat the air her interior body came into contact with. He shot another. And another. Kitty dodged it, trying not to let it phase through her. Another flaming bullet whipped by her, barely missing her head, and she felt her hair catch on fire. She grabbed her locks, snuffing it in her fist. She looked up and found him right in front of her face. His arm swung across the air and he backhanded her hard across the face and Kitty went sprawling onto the floor. She wiped the blood off her torn lip and pulled herself up from the floor and found Pyro directly above her, his hand outstretched. He fired and she felt heat swell up all around her, tearing at her insides as she phased through the floor again. She came up again, gasping for air and her face drenched in sweat. Pyro walked towards her, calm and unfeeling, his hand outstretched.

Suddenly, the lights flickered. And the whole hangar went black. She couldn't see anything. Letting her initial panic subside, she flew across the room towards the one light that she saw which was the glowing hands of Pyro, and let her fist rip across the distance and pummel him in the jaw. She sent the other arm flying and her fist contacted flesh and blood and bone as his neck twisted away from her. Grabbing him by his hair, she slammed his face into her knee and threw his body down onto the floor. Her legs shuddered, her body lost momentum and it collapsed onto the floor from the adrenaline rush. Her heart was pounding in her chest.

Pyro got up. He didn't bother wiping the blood off his face. He walked to her again. His facial expressions emotionless and cold. He stood tall above her. Kitty couldn't get her body to respond. She couldn't get her body to listen. She lay motionless on the floor.

Was Pyro the supermutant Magneto and Essex dreamed of?

Outstretching his hand, one last time, Pyro bent close to Kitty, his fingers almost touching her chest. She felt the almost radioactive heat generating from him. The fire roiled out from his fingers, and all   


Kitty could do was close her eyes.

Suddenly, a loud animalistic cry filled the darkness and Kitty felt a whoosh of air pass by her as Pyro's body got tackled and was sent sailing across the room. Kitty rolled onto her side and finally got her body to get up from the floor. She heard the distinct sound of admantium claws piercing into the air. Wolverine.

Wolverine raised both of his claws and stabbed them into Pyro's shoulders, skewering him down onto the floor. Pyro ceased to struggle. Then raising both of his knees, he then kicked up, his feet planting hard and accurately into Wolverine's diaphragm, dislodging Wolverine's claws painfully out from Pyro's shoulders. But Pyro didn't seem aware of any injury. Wolverine stumbled back and clamored to get his breath back. Then steadying his feet onto the ground, he eyed Pyro who was walking towards him in regular, steady steps, even though his shoulders were mangled and his face was rendered into a bloody pulp.

"What's wrong with this boy?" Wolverine growled.

"I think he's the first supermutant," Kitty said, managing to pull herself up onto the floor and lean up against a wall.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," Kitty grimaced. "You find Magneto?"

"Yeah, but he ain't no use to us," Wolverine stated, slowly circling around Pyro. "What?"

"I'll tell you about it later!" and Wolverine lunged to the side as Pyro's hand surged up another fiery tempest. The fire traveled until it caught onto some old kerosene barrels and suddenly the whole hangar burst up into golden light as the flames licked up onto the fuel. Wolverine parried until he caught Pyro unguarded and he swiped his claws across Pyro's chest. Stumbling back, Pyro raised both of his arms, squared his shoulders and flames extended from his arms so fast that it caught Wolverine straight in the stomach. Quickly doubling over the fire and somersaulting out of the way, Wolverine planted his feet down onto the ground and launched himself at Pyro. Pyro looked up at Wolverine's pending attack, then suddenly, his whole body burst up into flames. Wolverine landed hard onto Pyro, and painfully realized that touching Pyro's body was like touching a burning piece of coal. Wolverine rolled off of him immediately, and onto the floor until the flames that caught onto Wolverine's body were put out.

Pyro stood with flames licking off of him as if he was being consumed, but he remained comfortably aloof as he moved to assault Wolverine once again. Wolverine got up, his legs spread wide, elbows locked, and his claws aimed forward. He breathed hard, trying to compete for oxygen among all the fire that had taken over the whole compound. The ground groaned. This building wasn't going to last at this rate.

Pyro jumped up and swung at Wolverine, who barely dodged the blow by bending over backwards. He swung again, but this time, his fiery fist locked onto Wolverine's face as the skin he contacted blistered and bubbled from the heat. Wolverine let out a yell in agony, as he leaped away from Pyro. He swung at Wolverine, almost blindly, Wolverine dodging his head, bobbing up and down, until Pyro's form was almost on top of him, engulfing him. Finally, Wolverine drew back his arm, and sucker-punched   


Pyro hard in the stomach, the claw protruding into and out the other side of Pyro's skinny torso. Pyro stopped, losing concentration, his mouth agape and eyes buggy, the fire on his skin wisped away into smoke. Lodging another claw into Pyro's chest, Wolverine raised the forked body above his head and chuck him across the room. Pyro's body slammed against the wall, then slid down and collapsed onto the floor like a rag doll. Wolverine's breathing was ragged. He stalked towards Pyro. But the boy was unmoving, his body limp and defeated. Bending down, Wolverine grabbed Pyro by the neck, feeling for the pulse. Kitty moved to Wolverine's side, putting a nervous hand on Wolverine's shoulder.

"He's dead," Wolverine grunted and let go of Pyro's neck.

Kitty exhaled, then inhaled sharply, then exhaled again, as if she was hyperventilating. Wolverine got up. He looked around. Sabretooth was gone, along with Magneto's body. He looked to the side, where the Blackbird was parked. For some reason, Essex had not taken notice of them yet. Or maybe he did, but he was waiting for the right time to spring out. Whatever the case, this was their only chance to escape.

"Kitty, did you locate the X-men?" Wolverine said, his breathing getting back to its normal pace.

Kitty nodded, unable to remove her eyes from Pyro's dead form. Wolverine tapped the side of her cheek, the one that didn't have a welting bruise on it and locked onto her eyes with his.

"Look, Half-pint, if we're gonna escape, now's the time. Lead me to the bodies and we'll start loading them up onto the aircraft."

"What about Rogue?" Kitty asked, but grabbed Wolverine by the arm and phased him downwards into the filing rooms below.

"Hopefully, she'll meet us at the hangar like planned. But right now, we get the plane loaded before Essex makes it more difficult, got it?"

Kitty bobbed her head nervously, then reaching into the filing cabinets, dragged someone out. It was Jean. Closing her eyes, Kitty steeled herself and brought out another. It was Amara. Wolverine shouldered two or three bodies at a time, Kitty only one, and holding onto Wolverine she phased through the walls and the ceilings, loading their unconscious comrades onto the Blackbird. They worked in silence. Kitty prayed for Rogue to be all right. Wolverine got the growing suspicion that somehow, it was Rogue, who was allowing them to escape. And it was Rogue who was keeping Essex at bay.

****************************

**Sunning's Original Author's Note (too long to be posted under end notes):**

Hoo~boy~~! There was a lot of violence in this one, huh? It feels rather refreshing to get all my pent up anger and frustration out. I'm not a violent person, but for some reason I'm very visual when it comes to fighting. I think it's all my years playing videogames with my brothers. I'm like the Tekken master. No, okay, I'm not. But I enjoy playing the game a lot.

Well let me take this time to personally respond to some of the reviews. If you wrote one and I didn't reply to you, then I'm sorry, it's probably because you didn't write anything substantial for me to personally respond to. But I appreciate the extra effort you take to write it, even if it's only a 1K "good job." A big thank you to all my one-liner readers. Thanks for reading~!

Sad Year: Essex is comin' up next chapter. And I'll be explaining what goes on in his sick, twisted   


head. It'll be fun~! He's quite sinister, but I guess that IS his supervillain name, right? But yeah, he's more malevolent than Magneto in my fic. For goodness sake, Mags has been chosen as Essex's battery brand of choice. So yeah, I'm kinda riding on the effect that everybody kinda overlooked Essex because they thought he's a nerdy scientist so "how big of a threat could he be", but whammo! They all get demutagenized! You have to always watch out for the quiet ones.

Chiru: Thanks for appreciating the plot. It's quite twisted, and often times it's hard to follow even for me. But I think it's always better to read something with a twist. Although sometimes I like to read just like songfics and passing whimsy kind of stories too, they're not as demanding for the reader.

GrinningContrivance: Thank you for understanding my rather sporadic updating tendencies. I used to update more often, but the internet at my house has been cut-off, so I've been updating at school. So that's mainly the reason why I'm completely off and on.

beth: "action-packed movie", eh? Whoo~~! Hopefully, I can get this finished before May 2nd, cuz that's when X-men 2 is comin' out to a theatres near you! Yay! There's a limit to what action you can write. Sometimes it's all about the special effects, and the flashing lights don't you think?

Lucky439: Well, I guess Cody did go off with a mention. But I'm making Cody out to be one of Rogue's imaginary, voice-in-the-head, best friend. And she could care less if the actual Cody fell into a coma or not. But I'm glad you like it either way.

ishandahalf: Uh-oh. No Mush. Worse yet. No Remy. No Rogue. I suppose you're quite upset now, aren't you? Uh-oh, and don't you like St. John? Hmmm... oh well. You hafta realize, scary things happen in the "evil secret island lair or doom and destruction" under the supervision of "mr insane evil scientist man."

the honorable gucci: You're welcome about penning Jubilee in. I like her, too. I know boys are the reigning majority with Marvel/DC type comic books, but I think a lot of girls are into the X-men fandom. I think most of my readers are girls. Or maybe it's that most of my reviewers are girls. Either way, you're not alone babe.

leina: You just gotta love Remy. And he and Rogue are a winning combination in my opinion. Oh and I'm not sure, but I think you might be the one who also e-mailed me... so in that case, in answer to your question, I don't really have an updating schedule. =P I just kinda update very randomly. I might update one more time sometime on Friday or if not on Monday.

Goldylokz: Oooh~~ I really like your idea. So I'll keep it as an afterthought and see if I could fit it in eventually. But I think I'll keep Mystique's power latent for now, mainly because Rogue's still a little disturbed by her so-called terrorist step-mom, and Rogue might not be so gung-ho about usin' it.

leigh: Edge of the seat, huh? Thanks! If I ever print and bind this story in a hard copy format with paper and inkjet printing, then I might just print all of yall's review and put it on the back-cover. Like "edge of the seat thrill ride!" "I just couldn't put it down!" and "Riveting!" Hmmmm...

Neurotic Temptress: Hee hee... I know you usually like quoting Remy's flirting lines but there are none in this chapter. Phooey~ =P Oh and by the way, I'm glad you understood the demutagen story line.

Flyby Stardancer: Hurrah for addicted readers!

Lace123: Hurrah for non-confused readers who understand the "demutagen thing." I'm not really sure if   


I understand it myself. So, basically, Magneto is a stupid retard who got tricked by Essex into forfeiting all his men over. But the question still remains, what's Essex gonna do with the bodies? Although, Kitty and Wolverine is swiping it from under his nose right now.

The Flying Pen: "Bust your knee caps?" Wow, so I guess mafia folk read fanfiction, too, huh?

Okay, Ahhhhh~~ I need to go see some sunshine and breathe some fresh air now. Gettin' all hunch- backed and zitty from this fanfic business. Quite unattractive.

Thanks for reading, everybody~!


	26. Antidote

After searching the whole second level, Rogue found nothing but more rooms with filed mutants. She found neither Essex nor any demutagen-related information. She finally found herself in a dimly lit stairwell that led downstairs.

*Well, Ah guess there's no way but down,* Rogue said.

It was humid downstairs. A long, narrow hallway greeted her, stretched from left to right. To the left there were two doors. To the right there were two more. All had brown paint that was chipping away with rust and none were marked with any names or numbers. She stepped into the hallway from the stairwell, and her footstep echoed along with the sound of water drip, drip, dripping. It was quiet. So quiet that Rogue found herself holding her breath so she wouldn't disturb the silence.

*Which door?* Rogue asked.

*Y'got me,* Remy answered.

*Care to take a guess?*

*Don't really like my odds.*

*C'mon 'Gambit', live up to your name a li'l,* Rogue replied dryly. Despite the fact that her hands were shaking from all the nervous tension, Rogue and Remy were managing to keep a rather lighthearted mindset. Or maybe they were just skirting the disturbing issues. Either of them really did not know what to expect from Essex. They did not know his powers. But if he was strong enough to simultaneously take down the X-men and the Acolytes, and their respective leaders, then Essex was not to be taken lightly.

Remy did not commit to an answer, but Rogue found her feet gravitating towards her left until she shuffled to a stop in front of a door. She placed a hand on a rusty doorknob.

*This one, then…* her voice trailed off and before she might chicken out, she twisted the knob and pushed. The door gave with a groan but pushed back.

*Great, it's locked.*

*Y'want to try a different door?" Remy suggested.

*No.* Rogue's hand was still on the knob. *No, Ah just have this feelin' that it's in there.*

*What's in there?*

*Ah don't know. Essex. Maybe the antidote. Just somethin' important. Call it female intuition.*

*Scary stuff,* he whistled. *Go on den, what y'waitin' for?*

*It's locked.*

*Dat can be solved. Stick your pinky finger in the keyhole and twist.* She did, and something clicked and the doorknob twisted open.   


*How'd ya do that?*

*You jus' did it, chere, why y'askin' me?*

*No, you did somethin',* Rogue said, a little awed by her pinky finger. Then she returned her attention back to the door.

Remy chuckled. *I tell y'later… f'a price, though. Remy don't give away his secrets f'free.*

*How much ya askin'?* she asked, not fully comprehending what she was saying as her fingers clenched the doorknob until her knuckles turned white.

*A kiss.*

Rogue exhaled, but her breath came out a little quivery. She wished it was from the anticipation of getting kissed by Remy, but she knew it was fear. Fear that maybe this day wouldn't end with a happy ending.

*You really dat shy, chere?* Remy asked, when Rogue remained silent.

*We get this over with, and if Ah have the breath o' life still in me, you can kiss me as much as you want.*

There was fear in her voice. Before Remy could say anything in return, Rogue pushed open the door and stepped inside.

Rogue looked up and gasped.

The room was a mid-sized laboratory which held many different computers whirring away, busily monitoring its daily duties. The lights were dim, the floor swept clean. There were shiny, polished surgical tools laid out on an ivory white table-cloth. It reminded Rogue a little of the Med Bay back home. But Rogue's eyes were fixed on something else. In the back of the room lay Remy's body immersed in a glass tank of transparent blue liquid.

She approached it, slowly, reverently. His hair floated from side to side like a bed of seaweed underwater. An oxygen mask was suctioned onto his face. His eyes were closed, tiny air bubbles forming on his eyelids and lashes. His body was stretched into a lying down position, naked, save for a pair of black boxers. Rogue touched the glass with her palm. It was warm.

Suddenly, she felt something like cold metal prod her on the back of her neck. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

Rogue stiffened at the sound of the voice. The raspy, thin voice that penetrated her ears and disturbed her soul.

"Turn around," he said, prodding her with the cold, metal nub pressed onto her neck.

Rogue did as she was told. She slowly turned her body counter-clockwise, and both her hands rose up for good measure.

Essex's face was even more grotesquely white up close, almost as if it was powdered. A strange mark   


adorned his forehead. His eyes were terrifyingly red with no discernable pupils. He held a gun, much like the demutagen-loaded ones she had seen before. With the nozzle of it, he pressed it on her chin and lifted her face to meet his. His face brightened, if brightening was the word to describe it.

"Ahh… an Xavier student, am I correct? My men are out searching for you. But I see you made it into the lion's den all by yourself."

"What are you doing to him?" Rogue questioned barely above a whisper.

"Him? You mean Gambit? He's a special project. But that is none of your concern."

"Ah know what you're up to," Rogue said, willing the fear out of her voice. She stood straight, her eyes didn't betray her and they boldly pierced into those aghast, demon eyes.

"Do you now?" he smirked.

"Ah know that you were the one who looted the Bayville Hartwell Labs. Ah know that you're with Magneto in the first place so that you can avenge your court loss against SXMTech. But you betrayed him, betrayed him and demutagenized all the mutants and you're keepin' them locked up in filing cabinets."

"You must have done some research, unfortunately information regarding me is not easily accessible. And much of what you just told me, you are grossly misinformed. First of all, I didn't loot anything. I own Hartwell Labs. I own SXMTech. I own most of all the genetic labs this side of the Hemisphere. But you mutants and your freedom movements think small. Even Magneto thinks small, with all his show and grandeur, he has nothing to hold up in this world except for his ideals. Even he has his foot tied down to man's contrived ideals of morality and justice. It's foolhardy to be so plebian."

"And Ah suppose you're different," Rogue said, her eyes quickly scanning the room again. *Remy, as soon as Ah find the right time, Ah'm absorbin' 'em, make sure you're ready.*

*Rogue, b'careful. Make de transfer as short as possible, all we need t'know is where de antidote is.*

*Yeah, Ah know.*

Essex smiled. It was grisly. He paused to think about Rogue's comment. "I am a scientist, in the purest meaning of the word. Science is truth. It is objectivity and calculation and detachment. Morality has no room in this world, it only serves to hinder your efforts. Humans with all their Nobel Prize discoveries would have realized that their miniscule achievements would have happened centuries ago if only they didn't adhere to their backwater moral values."

Rogue clenched her fists. Then loosened it. Essex was absorbed in his monologue. He began to pace away from her. Rogue waited for the moment he would turn his back to her. Suddenly, the whole building groaned and the lights flickered, then the room went pitch black. Rogue's vision was bathed in night-vision red, and spying the confused Essex, she took two steps, jumped up and lunged for Essex's neck.

He evaded her easily, as if he was anticipating her attack, and grabbing her in the air, his hand twisted her arm back and strangled her body tightly against his. He smiled, breathing into her hair.

"Dear Rogue. There's something you didn't know about me. I'm telepathic." He laughed in her ear as she couldn't help her heart jolt at the revelation. "Do you wish to absorb me, Rogue? Only want to   


know what the antidote is? How about I just tell you, hmm? Wouldn't that be a lot more pleasant then getting another voice in your head, telling you what to do?"

"Let me go, freak," Rogue hissed and struggled in his tight embrace.

"Shhh," he cooed in her ear, and he stepped a little to the side and flipped on a battery-powered ultra- violet lamp. The room was bathed in black light, the white looking whiter, his hands glowing in the dark. A small vile with yellow liquid began to elevate all on its own and flew into Essex's hand. "I'm also telekinetic," he informed, relishing the feel of her heart palpitating at every word he uttered.

He lodged the vial into a gun, and the loaded gun sashayed in front of her face in midair. "This, little Rogue, is your antidote. It's quite a remarkable chemical component. The demutagen is a transposon DNA element, going around your bloodstream, inserting itself into your chromosomes and excising the mutated sequence of interest. The antidote goes in and reverses the effect, putting the demutagenated portion back into the DNA as good as new. But do you know what happens when you inject the antidote when it has nothing to reverse?"

The gun floated up, pressing its nozzle onto the side of Rogue's temple. She gritted her teeth. "It's quite fascinating," he breathed. "If it can't find the demutagen, it will make it. It takes your DNA, cuts it up and plays around with it until it can create a demutagen to latch onto. And you know what happens when intact DNA instantly crumbles? You age about a hundred years in two minutes and die," he finished with an amused ring to his voice.

She was in a cold sweat, involuntarily cringing at what he was telling her. But she made her body limp, and she ceased to struggle in his hold.

"I like you, Rogue," he said.

"No thanks, you're not my type," she managed to answer back caustically.

He chuckled. "Quite delightful, you are. So I will give you the honor of being the first mutant to ever be injected with nothing but pure antidote. You see, I have only tested it on animals, but you will be my first human test subject. You will be immortalized in the name of science."

*Don' t'ink so, Hommes.*

With a puff of smoke, Rogue vanished and Essex stumbled forward, the gun with the antidote clattered onto the floor. Rogue reappeared again in front of him, swiftly kicked him in the face and Essex sprawled backwards. She bent down and picked up the antidote, tucked it in her belt and kicked Essex again. His body suddenly levitated, moved back and then his face broke out into a bloodied grin.

"You don't disappoint me!" he taunted, and pointing his arm to the side, the table of surgical tools rose up and pointing its sharp ends at Rogue, he flicked a wrist and they sailed across the room at her. Facing them, she quickly drew up a hand and they immediately stopped in midair, about-faced and were sent hurtling at Essex. His eyes grew wide and he dodged out of the way, but one of the scalpels managed to swipe a clean cut on his left cheek. He looked at her in confusion, wiping away at the blood.

Rogue shrugged. "Anythin' you can do, Ah can do better, old man."

He flashed a lop-sided grin but it was more like he was baring his teeth at her in anger. Outstretching   


his hands, Rogue suddenly felt her whole body pick up and gravitate towards him. Instantly, she used Jean's telepathy to reverse the effect, tethering her body telepathically to the floor. They stood at a standstill, Rogue's telekinetic powers battling with Essex's. But she knew hers wouldn't last long. She needed another option. Suddenly, she cut off the telekinetic and like withheld elastic, her body shot towards Essex. Using the momentum, Rogue dived forward, cannonballing into Essex. Essex's body caved in around her attack, pummeling him backwards crashing into a wall. The wall crumbled by the impact, half-burying Rogue. Steeling her body with Juggernaut's strong exterior shell, she pounded at Essex, wailing on him hand, arm and foot, until she could breathe no more from the dust and gravel that eroded off the broken wall.

Rogue climbed out, pulling herself from among the debris. Essex had his eyes closed, temporarily knocked out. She knew he wasn't dead, and he would probably revive soon.

*Rogue, quick. Get the demutagen and run.*

*Wait, your body,* Rogue said, looking at Remy's lying form in the glass tube.

*Jus' get de demutagen first.*

*But…*

*No time, chere, we got t'hurry, non? Kitty and Logan, dey be waiting.*

Rogue pinched her lips. Then heading over to the lab table where Essex found the demutagen, she found a metal tacklebox with lines and columns of vials all with the same yellow chemical. She shut the lid of the box and tucked it under her arm.

*We're comin' back for it, got it?* Rogue demanded. All of a sudden, she heard a loud, piercing noise that reverberated across her skull. Screaming, she sank to the ground, dropping the box of antidotes and seizing her head with her hands.

*Little Rogue. Don't leave yet.*

*Essex!* Remy yelled.

*And who might you be?* Essex hissed. *Come, Rogue, introduce me.*

Rogue screamed again, and her vision cowed in black. Then she felt her mind writhe and contort and bend in agony as Essex pummeled his way in. She clawed at her hair, her fingernails digging into her scalp and drawing blood. Biting her lip, tears welled up from the torture and Rogue screamed again as Essex's mind besieged hers.

*

*

Kitty looked up suddenly. "Logan, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Logan grunted, as he shouldered three more bodies. "I swear, I just heard Rogue. She needs our help."   


"We'll go and help her. But we finish this job first. This building's not gonna last long with the way that fire is going on," Logan said.

Kitty nodded. Smoke had started to seep into the second floor and the upper hangar was almost completely consumed with the fire that Pyro started. Kitty and Logan had made it around the whole second floor, rapidly loading bodies like machines. The Blackbird was fast-reaching capacity, for the bodies being held by Essex were not only the Acolytes and the X-men, but many other unaffiliated mutants as well. Kitty had not recognized any Morlocks or any of the Brotherhood members, and for that she was thankful. When they finally reached the room with Piotr in it, they knew that this was their last room.

"Hopefully, this one's the last," Wolverine said, wiping the sweat that stung his eyes. Bending down to lift Piotr, he grimaced from the weight. "Let's make one more trip. Don't think I can carry any more on top of this fella."

"You take him and I'll carry one more," Kitty said. She stuck her hand in the cabinets and swung it around. They had found out that some of them were empty, so Kitty developed a system to just stick her hand in and wave it around until she felt a body. It was quite distasteful, but she was fast getting used to it. Running her hand up and down the file cabinets, she found most of the drawers in this room were unoccupied. Finally, her hand collided with a face. She stopped, and putting both her arms in, she gingerly pulled out the body. When Kitty saw who it was, she gasped.

"What the hell?" Logan exclaimed when he saw their last passenger.

Held tight in Kitty's arms was St. John Allerdyce, Pyro, in the same torn uniform that he had worn on the night he had gone out with Remy, became injected with demutagen and lost his sanity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunning's Original Author's Note:  
> Goin' for a quick update this time! Yay~!  
> To Ambrosia: Wow, I'm sorry you found the violence so offensive. I guess I knew that it wasn't really Pyro who was dying, so I kinda let loose the gore, but I can see how it might be a litle disturbing if you didn't know that. I just really love usin' the shock effect. As for not bein' the EVO world, well, I take that as a compliment. Really, now, I think X-men characters have so much potential, and sometimes EVO has the tendency to downright butcher them. But then again, it can't be helped because EVO's geared towards children. And anyway, it's fanfiction, so I think I should be able to get away with a lot of things. And regarding your comment on how Wolverine never used his claws on people, I like to think that Wolverine is a rather animalistic instinctive fighter. And I think it's rather naieve to think that he might not have ever used his claws on killing a few people here and there (even in EVO). Not that he does it for fun or anything, but it just ends up happening. And he feels bad about it, but it almost can't be helped. I think that's what makes him so brooding. So I'm writing his murder of the pyro clone with a kind of fight-or-flight kinda instinct kicking in. You can disagree with me, but I just like my Wolverine not so goody-two-shoe. There's enough kids to be that way. Oh and about your comment about how Remy's this perfect know-it-all, keep that in mind, cuz it's pivotal to how the story will develop in the end.  
> Leigh: Thanks for your enthused review. I don't know why, but the way you word things. It's terribly flattering.
> 
> rogue star: I updated twice in one week, so I'm thinking that's pretty soon right? I'll try to go for ch 27 to hit around Monday night.  
> The Flying Pen: So yeah, have no fear Pyro's not dead... Pyro with the Australian accent that is. And Logan got Piotr's body. As for Rogue/Remy, I think I just left them in a heap of doo doo, didn't I? Sorry for the cliffhangar.  
> jebrylla: Pyro's not dead! Wow, lots of peeps like Pyro. Quite amazin' phenomenon, considering he's such a minor character. Then again, in EVO, so is Remy.  
> Lucky439: Yeah, the humans in X-men are hardly ever interesting.  
> Ryoko Subaru: Wow, another Aussie? Man, it's like 50% of my reviewers are Australian! And here's dopey me trying to kill of their one mascot. Pyro's not dead!  
> dark void: Don't cry for Pyro. HE'S NOT DEAD!  
> ishandahalf: Wow, your plan to kidnap me, sap me of my stories and take credit as your own is quite sinister. And I think that BWA HA HA HA HA laugh was like the cherry on top. Really, you're evil genius material.  
> one23mad: Yay~~ new reader~~ I really hate that too, when you go down to click the button but all you see is the down button that takes you to the chapter index. Depressing stuff.  
> Neurotic Temptress: Ooh yeah, Rogue's going through some scary exorcist stuff so that Logan and Kitty can make their getaway with like their human cargo. I'm glad that you weren't completely bored by the lack of the two main characters. It was probably risky to take out the star of the shows right? But hey there in this episode!  
> Mournful Aria: Yay to action. But romance will be coming up. kaosda: yes, and the important thing is that "the plot has moved on."  
> bunny angel: I don't think Sinister's skin is diseased. That might be a fanfiction idea. Oh and I'm not sure if Sinister is telekinetic, but he is telepathic. Mushiness is probably gonna come in the chapter after the next. But who knows, I might just get some crazy idea and end up killing them all! No, I wouldn't do that. That'd be very unprofessional. (As if fanfic writing is a profession.)


	27. Mindspace

Essex looked around at his surroundings. Rogue's mind looked like his laboratory, down to the last detail.

"Impressive, Rogue, your mind is more powerful than I imagined," he said in a snide tone. "I suspected you had a developed mind considering you had a mental block around it, but your mind is structured enough to be a telepath. But of course, I forgot, you are capable of both teleportation and telekinesis."

A strange fog surrounded Essex, when he looked around him, he saw the fog thin and distinguish into features, floating faces and arms.

"What's this?" he asked and moved to touch them. They recoiled and snapped back at him, but Essex didn't flinch. "Very interesting. I wonder what else you have to show me, dear Rogue."

The psyches hissed, constantly forming and deforming into the mist. "Don' t'ink anybody invited you, Essex."

Essex turned around. Remy stood amidst the fog of psyches, only his upper torso visible. He stood tall dressed in a long duster with a bo-staff held casually at his side, but his eyes flared up with disapproval and warning.

If Essex was surprised to see Gambit, he didn't show it. "Well, well, so this is where you were hiding, my boy," he said. "I thought it was rather odd that the demutagen had not spread in your body and your brain was completely dead. I made many different conjectures on behalf of you. You see, in science, it is the aberration that is treasured. The mutant is the one that we can learn from, the rest can be discarded. I spent many hours studying you. Although the truth is rather dull and anticlimactic, I am nevertheless happy that this mystery is solved."

"Y'like t'hear y'self talk, don' you, mon frere?" Remy said, cocking his head lackadaisically to the side and giving him a hard look.

"Only when I am amused. And I am very amused right now. Rogue's mind is quite rare, I would rather like to have it studied. And you, trapped in her mind, is an added bonus."

"I get de feeling dat you don't have much of a social life, homme. So let me give you a tip. Women, at least de ones I met, don't appreciate being lab rats for science experiments. Dey usually more open to a dinner and a show."

"Your humor is distasteful to me."

"Oui, but I ain't de 70-year old virgin here, am I?" Remy shrugged, keeping a joking demeanor, but his eyes were cold and threatening. "How about y'leave here. Rogue don't appreciate people rapin' her mind."

"Enough talk. My efforts here are to study Rogue. And if you do not get out of my way, then I am willing to sacrifice you to keep her!" Essex suddenly scooted forward on his heels and grabbed Remy by the neck, raising his body a foot above the floor. The psyches screamed but didn't attack as Remy, grabbing Essex's arm by the wrist, swung his lower body up and then axed his lower heel down hard onto Essex's shoulder. Essex hissed in pain and let go. Remy fell onto the floor, somersaulted   


backwards and sprang forward, his bo-staff extended. He brought the staff down quickly slapping Essex on both arms, swung it down expertly to hit the crook of his right leg and hit his face twice on each cheek. Stunned, Essex stumbled backwards and as Remy lifted his staff to strike him, Essex brought up his own hand for a long glowing staff to materialize. The staff blocked Remy's blow just in time, the impact separating them. But only for a moment, as Essex jumped up and belted Remy across the midsection. Remy doubled over, then dived into the floor, somersaulted passed Essex, sweeped his staff over the floor, tripped Essex off the ground and landed neatly behind Essex as the other man fell belly down onto the floor. Essex pressed his palms onto the floor to get up, but he felt his face slam onto the ground again when Remy's bo pinned his body to the ground, the end of the stick grinding into the flesh between his shoulder blades.

"Please get out, y'embarrassin' y'self in front of de psyches," Remy said, pressing down the man harder onto the ground.

Essex narrowed his eyes and curled his lips in anger. Then, suddenly, he laughed. Almost good- humoredly. Remy raised an eyebrow, still holding Essex down with his staff. All of a sudden, Remy's bo-staff lost shape and glowing, it slowly bent into an S, and a large cobra curved its neck and striked for Remy's head. Remy dropped the snake, quickly ducking away in time. The snake began to grow, until it was almost five times taller than Remy. Slithering around him, it coiled around his body. Before it could fully constrict its tail, Remy jumped up, bounced onto the snake's body and quickly ran up the length of it. Flying into the air, Remy landed down onto the snake's head, grinding his heel hard into the area between the cobra's eyes. It hissed and shrank in size until it split into two, right down the middle and two large arms grew out from the snake's torso.

Laughter boomed across. Remy looked from one arm to the other and then found Essex right in front of him. Essex parted his hands and the large projected arms mimicked his. Essex stopped and clapped his hands, the large arms came together with frightening momentum and clasped, trapping Remy in between, the pressure of the two palms grinding together.

"This is mindspace, Gambit. You cannot win me. I am a telepath, therefore I have the natural advantage," Essex said, his voice filled with mocking laughter. "You are a good fighter. But in here, you are like a fish out of water. While I am in my element."

"Dis ain't your world, Essex," Remy gritted through the pain of his whole body slowly being pressed tighter and tighter by the large hands, threatening to crush his bones into muscles out of flesh. He sharply inhaled. Then stared at Essex with bright glowing red eyes. "It's Rogue's."

Suddenly, the mind lost all sound as if in some strange time warp, and then the cacophony of a thousand screams burst up in all directions. The psyches lined up one after another and hurtled their forms into Essex. Like pointed arrows, they pierced through Essex on all sides, screaming and beating down on the intruder like a hailstorm. Essex lashed about, trying to take down the assault but there were too many. He backed down, and covered his head with the front of his forearms and braced his body against their attacks. They continued to pierce through him, but then some psyches began to bounce off. Essex's whole body began to glow, and then the psyches ricocheted off him like harmless rubber balls. The laboratory setting quickly lost shape as it was filled with bright bursts of energy and contorted colors and stinging noise. Rogue was in pain. She was fighting to keep control, but she was drowning in agony. Remy looked about in panic, if Rogue reached her threshold of pain and snapped under duress, there was no knowing what would happen.

Essex raised his arms and sent a surge of energy across the space. Psyches screamed as they were blown away by a powerful gust of charged wind. Even Remy struggled against it. The wind began to   


swirl around Remy and the psyches, it became quicker and faster until it grew and grew, taller and taller, into a full-blown twister. The psyches were sucked into it. The darkness flashed with pain. The screaming and throbbing intensified as Remy lost his foothold on the ground and he was flipped up into the center of the tornado. Essex stood on the outside, smiling, his hand raised, commanding his tornado. Bringing his arms together, the walls of the tornado began to squeeze together until the wind itself was as solid as rock, threatening to pulverize everything trapped in its powerful current. It dangerously narrowed with Remy stuck inside. Suddenly, a loud boom cut across the sky and the whole world seemed to go white. Cool blue lightning, strangely familiar, struck down straight into the middle of the twister.

The lightning crackled and split and it intertwined with the tornado, restricting its movements. Essex looked around in confusion. The bright blue strands of electricity pulled the twister at its seams, ripping it apart, and finally, the winds gave up, lost form and dissipated into nothing. Remy dropped from the altitude but the light moved to catch him, and its soft, blue tendrils extended and gathered all the psyches until they were safely caught in its net.

"What is this?" Essex demanded.

The blue lightning retracted back, releasing Remy and the psyches, and centralizing into a bright sparkling light. The light elongated into a shape of a man, and when the light disappeared, Professor Xavier stood in its place.

"Xavier?" Essex exclaimed.

"You are reckless, Essex. And your utter disregard for life and disrespect towards the mind disgusts me," the Professor said. "Get out of her mind now. Or you die in here today."

"Do not patronize me, Xavier. How did you get in here? I personally demutagenized you."

"I deposited my psyche into mindspace, knowing that your demutagen will not take effect in my body without the energy produced by thought."

Essex digested the information and tipped his head at the Professor. "You live up to your reputation, Professor. That was quite clever. Nevertheless, your attacking me is just as burdensome for Rogue as my attacking you."

"I am aware of that," the Professor said. He then turned his head to look at Remy. "I now know that Rogue herself must find the solution. So I shall not interfere. But Rogue, you must listen to me. This is your mind. You have the ultimate control over everything and anything that enters it. Push Essex out."

"That's quite enough!" Essex yelled and extending his arm into a sharp pointed blade, he punched it into the Professor's gut. The Professor gasped, but did not fight back. Remy sprang into action, flying up and kicking the back of Essex's head in a swift, fluid arc. Essex took the blow and releasing the Professor, raised his blade arm back again, this time aiming for Remy. The arm swung in a diagonal motion, slicing for Remy's neck when suddenly, with a ringing clang, the blade arm hit something hard. Immediately, the blade shattered at contact. Essex cried in pain, but quickly regenerated his arm. He looked up, grimacing, curious to know what had repelled him. A clear orb surrounded Remy. Another one enveloped the Professor, and the same clear white light fell onto the Professor's wound, closing up the gash and healing it away.

Before Essex could figure out what was going on, the ground below his feet moved and oozed up,   


covering his feet and twisting about his ankles. Essex looked down, startled. The inky, shadows wrapped around him, tightening as it climbed up his lower extremities.

"What- what are you doing?" Essex yelled, throwing an accusing finger at the Professor. "I am not doing anything. This is Rogue's domain, and she is merely getting rid of you."

Essex began tearing at the oozing floor that was trapping him, but the torn bits and pieces jumped up onto his shoulders, arms and neck like dark, crawly leeches. They elongated and gelled together. It was up to his neck now, his whole body swathed in the heavy darkness. As it filled his mouth, Essex gasped and then let out a horrified scream. His head disappeared into the darkness that swallowed him up, muffling his cries and snuffing him out.

Rogue gasped when she finally felt her mind kick out Essex. She opened her eyes, and found herself soaked in perspiration and face down on the laboratory floor. In front of her was the debris of the crumbling wall and Essex's unconscious form. His red eyes were wide open and a pool of saliva puddled below his mouth. Her vision was in double though, and she blinked to try to straighten it. She was dizzy and enervated. It felt like all her energy was sapped from her, and she had barely enough left to breathe. She wanted to give up, but something kept on prodding her. Maybe it was her own tenacious survival instincts.

*Rogue, chere, baby, please get up…* Or maybe it was Remy.

*Don't call me baby,* Rogue said as heaved her body up from the floor. She grabbed the counter top and pulled herself up. *Girl's gotta draw a line somewhere with these pet names.*

She heard Remy laugh more out of relief than comedy.

*

The Blackbird hummed to life. All of its lights on, the powerful jet engine propellers roared and elevated the aircraft. The wind was shoveled away by the thrusts of the engines, causing the fire in the hangar to blow out then rage back up.

"Where is she?" Kitty demanded, her patience running thin and rampant.

"Take over the controls, Kitty. I'll go look for her," Wolverine said. He got up from his seat, about to squeeze out of the two bodies that were strewn up in the aisles of the jet. There were so many people and so little room, that later they ended up piling body over body. "If I don't come back in 5 minutes. Fly out without us."

"What?" Kitty yelled. "I'm not leaving you guys behind!" "Do what you're told."

"No!"

"Look. We'll get out one way or another. But you got to at least give everybody else a chance," he said, indicating their planeload of demutagenized passengers.   


Finally, Kitty nodded reluctantly. "You better get out in five minutes."

Wolverine nodded, but before he could get out of the cockpit, something bamfed and in a wisp of brimstone, Rogue fell out of the sky and half into his arms. He almost fell but quickly recovered as best as he could and managed to finally drop her down as gingerly as possible on the most vacant spot on the floor.

"Rogue!" Kitty yelled and suddenly the jet swirved.

"Keep your hand on the controls, Half-pint!" Logan growled.

Kitty corrected the plane. "Oops, sorry! Oh man, I'm so happy to see you!" she declared and it felt like all her worries were wheezing out of her.

Rogue didn't say anything. She didn't have enough energy to. She released a metal box into Wolverine's hands and wiped her brow.

"What's this?" Logan asked, opening the box and finding vials and vials of a yellow chemical. "The antidote?"

Rogue nodded. Kitty whooped.

"You did good, kid," Logan said, patting Rogue on the shoulder. She pulled herself up onto her knees. "Ah'm goin' back down," she said evenly.

"What?" Logan said, squinting his eyes and leaning in, as if he had misheard what she just said. "You're what?" Kitty said, at the controls. The jet swerved again.

Rogue got up. Suddenly, Kitty jumped up from her seat and grabbed Rogue by the arm. The Blackbird dipped and Logan flew up to the controls and switched it to auto.

"Are you crazy, Rogue?" Kitty screamed at Rogue, and as if she cued it, the walls of the building crumbled and fire raged up against the plane. Already the jet was filled with smoke that it was getting hard to breathe, hear and see. "You can barely walk!"

"Ah have to get Remy," Rogue said. She tried to use Kurt's teleportation again, but it wasn't working. She must have exhausted that power. Rogue cursed.

"Rogue, listen to me. You gotta listen, we have to get out of here!" Kitty said.

Suddenly, the plane shuddered as something hard, like a boulder fell onto the plane. It clanged and the plane dipped dangerously to the side, causing all the passengers, conscious and unconscious alike to pile over one another.

"This plane ain't goin' no where unless we take off now!" Wolverine yelled. And the engines jolted up, whirring powerfully and the plane began to hover up, exiting the building.

"Then leave without me," Rogue said.

"What? No Rogue!" Kitty yelled, gripping tightly onto Rogue's arm. Suddenly, Kitty felt her heart skip   


a beat and energy pulled out of her. Rogue stopped after a brief second, and Kitty dizzily collapsed onto her. Not being so steady herself, Rogue fell under Kitty's weight. She put her down gently.

"Take her up, Logan!" Rogue yelled.

"Ya sure ya gotta go, Stripes?" Logan yelled back, knowing it was useless to try to stop her.

Rogue nodded. Then, Rogue phased out of the plane and her figure was lost inside the blazing fire below as the Blackbird flew up and out of the lair.

*

When Rogue entered back into the laboratory that she left Remy, she noticed that Essex's body was gone. Not having enough time or energy to care, though, Rogue turned her attention to Remy's body. Stumbling over to the strange glass capsule that held him, she began to closely look at the buttons. However, she was unable to decipher what any of their functions were.

*She ain't so user-friendly,* Remy muttered. Rogue sensed haste, worry and a little guilt from him. She said nothing in reply, but only focused harder on the controls to find a possible eject button. Something groaned and a beam in the ceiling above them gave away and fell onto the ground, nearly hitting Rogue.

*Building's burnin' down,* Remy informed.

Rogue nodded, pinched her eyebrows. And then out of panicked frustration, she placed both her hands flat onto the glass of the capsule and heaved it forward. Tipping slowly off the edge of the table, it crashed down, the blue liquid gushed forth from the shattered glass and Remy's body rolled out onto the floor.

Rogue ran over to his body, ducking as another piece of ceiling fell onto the floor. She crawled on her hands and knees to Remy's side, and pulling his arm up and around her shoulders, she tried with all her might to raise him up from the ground. Instead, his arm slipped away from her hands, and his body limply fell back onto the floor. The liquid he was immersed in was slick, almost like oil, and it coated his entire body, making it almost impossible to hold onto him. Another beam came down, and this time Rogue had to roll out of the way from getting hit. She pushed the beam off and sidled back next to Remy's form.

*Remy! Think of somethin'!* Rogue screamed.

Fire began to drip down from the gaping hole in the ceiling and smoke quickly spread across the room. Rogue coughed, trying to see through the smoke, but still holding steadfast onto Remy's slippery upper torso.

*Rogue.*

*What!*

*Just get out of here while y'can. Leave de body.*

*Not an option, Remy! We get your body or die tryin'!*

*Appreciate de sentiment, chere, but dis be stupid. Too much at stake here, don' want t'see you die over a body dat I may not even b'able t'get back into.*   


*If that's the only idea you came up with then just shut up so that Ah can think of a better one!*

All of a sudden, the floor licked up in flames. The fire caught onto the strange amniotic fluid that Remy's body had been immersed in, and to Rogue's horror, the fire quickly licked its way up from the floor and onto Remy's body.

Rogue let out a curse, trying to beat down the fire off his body. Then the wall behind them unexpectedly burst open and ice cold water showered upon them, putting out the fire and washing away the strange fluid off of Remy's body. But looking behind her, she realized their situtation just got a lot worse. The wall had sprung a leak. The lair was underwater, and the ocean water from outside was rushing in. The wall chipped away from the water pressure outside, letting in more and more water. The water already started to lap at Rogue's knees as she pulled Remy up from the floor so his body wouldn't drown. There was fire raging outside, water rushing in inside, and Rogue was stranded with an unconscious man, almost twice her body weight.

*Could this get any worse?* Rogue thought dejectedly.

*Try dis,* Remy said. A different sensation passed over her, and her skin began to grow a thick silver armor around itself, until her whole body from head to toe, was made up of steel-like material. She felt strength build inside her and quickly she hoisted Remy's body up and slung it over her shoulders. She ran outside, bounding into the hallway and up the stairwell. The second floor was completely in flames, and she cut through them as fast as she could, not feeling the heat herself, but she was afraid Remy's body would catch on fire. She finally reached the hangar, and she could barely see.

Suddenly, wind kicked up above her and there was a loud noise that roared above the fire. She saw a light sweep across the hangar. The helicopters. But there was only one. Rogue thought of Essex. Perhaps he telepathically called them to rescue him.

She ran across the hangar, deposited Remy's body onto an area where the fire had not latched onto. Spotting her, the helicopter suddenly began to shoot. The bullets pinged off her skin, and she shielded her hands to avoid getting blinded by the light of the helicopter. She ran across the hangar again, ditching Remy's body for the time being in order to lead the bullets away from him. Suddenly, Rogue felt a searing pain shoot up her left shoulder. She was shot. The armor ebbed away from her skin. Blood began to soak through her uniform. She was losing Piotr's power. The helicopter began to shoot again, this time a bullet lodging into her right thigh. She fell back, skidding into a heap of burning scrap metal. She rolled out from the fire, then bracing herself up from the floor with her good arm. She raised her hand and willed the helicopter down. She wasn't even sure if it was telepathy or magnetism causing the chopper to bend down against its will and land onto the ground.

Once pulled to the ground, the men began to load out, their guns pointed at her. They shot at her again. This time, Rogue remembered that she absorbed Kitty and kicked in her power. The bullets phased through her. But her mind was weak from the earlier fights with Essex and the psyches themselves were hurt, too. She was having trouble using the powers that they were trying to feed her. Kitty's power slipped away, and Rogue lunged away from another shower of bullets. She fell hard onto the floor. And this time, it felt like she wasn't going to get back up, her body no longer able to go on. But she had to. Had to do something.

The men jogged towards her, guns propped up. What was wrong with these soldiers? Didn't they value their own lives?

Simultaneously the guns loaded, but before they could shoot, Rogue lifted her good arm up from the   


ground and then brought it down, slapping her hand hard onto the floor. The floor below them rumbled. Then cracked. And shook. An earthquake took control of the whole compound, causing the men to stumble, panic and fall. Rogue with every single bit of energy left in her body, got up on her feet, ran on shaky ground towards Remy's body, pulled him up onto her shoulder and half-dragged, half-sprinted towards the helicopter. Rocks and gravel crumbled and showered down onto the hangar, and she didn't even try dodging them as she only saw one path ahead of her. Her escape.

A couple men barred her way, and Rogue reached out with her hand, snatched a falling rock from the air, charged it and chucked it at them. The rock hit the ground and they blew away from the impact. She teetered as well, but quickly righted herself and pumped her legs faster.

Before she knew it, she was loading Remy onto the chopper. The pilot moved to hit her and she looked up, blasting him off the chair with Cyclops' optic laser beams. She hopped onto the helicopter and into the pilot seat. She reached across at the fallen body of the pilot, ripped off his facemask and touched his face. Once she absorbed his knowledge, her fingers quickly found the right controls. The rotors beat the air and began to pull up away from the ground.

Flames roared. Water sprayed. Earth shook. But Rogue defied them all as the helicopter hovered with its tail up and poised. It finally broke into the light outside. And Rogue could not remember seeing anything as beautiful as the sky that greeted her. She was clear, but felt numb. She couldn't talk or hear or think. So all she did was manically grip the controls to the helicopter.

And she didn't let go until she finally landed safely in the front yard of the mansion. Pushing the door open, her body fell from the seat and collapsed onto the ground. The last thing she physically recollected was the soft grass on her cheeks and the taste of blood in her mouth.

**//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////**

**Sunning's Original Author's Note (too long to be put in end notes):**

Hullo. How's everybody doing? As promised, here's the 27th chapter which I'm uploading on Monday night.

First let me clarify a few things about the revelations made in this chapter:

  1. The Professor redeems himself! Yay for him. But for those of you wondering why the heck Xavier didn't just invade Essex's mind and play with him a little, I have two reasons. One, the Professor has no body, and even if he messes with Essex there is no guarantee that everybody's gonna be saved. Second, it's probably wiser to stay in the covers and jump to the rescue rather than let your hidden card be known. Third, (I know I only said 2, but I just thought of another one) Essex is a formidable telepath himself (although not as strong as Xavier) and he also has one of them mental block thingies as well as Rogue, so the Professor, even if he wanted to, could break across and spring to the rescue without some major struggle.
  2. Overall, in this chapter, Rogue's psyche control is kinda failing. Her mind's just been raped and she's bodily exhausted and now she's shot with the panic of Remy wanting to give up on his own body, so you'll have to excuse when Rogue can't think of which power to use (like she could have kicked in Piotr's power a long time ago, and it would have saved her some trouble) and etc. etc.



And that's about it with clarifications, so I'll move onto the personal remarks. Again, sorry if I don't respond to you.

Pen: Essex is Sinister from the old show. But I'm referring to him as only Essex in this fic, because he's not known among the greater mutant crowd yet, namely the X-men, and he's just known as Dr. Essex.

neurotic temptress: Yeah it would be nice if I could get a little monetary compensation for all my   


efforts.

Classic Tinker: Thank you so much for the long review! I really enjoyed reading your take on all the chapters so far. I'm glad the characters don't sound too contrived, although that's what they are. Heh heh. And I am a pretty big Beast fan, you gotta love anybody who's so frickin' educated. And he has a pretty cool sense of humor too, you know really dry and a little corny, but it's okay, cuz it's cute coming from him...

Leigh: AKA the enthusiastic/hyper happy person: Ah, hopefully there'll be no more twists now. Too many curveballs end up biting you in the butt. But I admit, I do love my unexpected twists... maybe a little too much.

Ish: Fear not! Remy's sexy body is safe in the possession of Rogue (as it should be) but alas, Remy's still not in it. And yes, John was a clone. And you deserve to do the dance, because you're always on the ball with these things. It's hard to catch the evil genius off guard, right? Cuz you're like always one step ahead of everybody else. But you should stop abusin' the crack, cuz it'll mess with you and you might go down by one of your superhero nemesis bent on taking you down and bringing you to justice.

Dark Void: Ha ha ha... yeah, now that you mention it, I do pretend killing off a lot of cuties. And I love getting the telepaths to torture Rogue. Eh, there's a limit to creativity I guess. And no joke about that song, "Anything you can do, I can do better, I can do anything better than you! No you can't! Yes I can!..." Yes it's now stuck in my head, yet again. And yours, too, I bet. Sorry =P

Mournful Aria: Yeah, I'm learning a lot on how to write fight scenes better because of this fic. But ugh, I'm desperately wanting some good ol' romance, right about now. I think that's enough of an action fix, don't you?

One23mad: you had a dream about my fic? Called 'egg'? Woah... weird. I was half-tempted to name this chapter 'egg' and make you think you're esp-ing or something. But, egg would throw people off when the chapter had nothing to do with eggs or egg-like things.

DaniluvsPyro: Ah yes, the classic ROMY syndrome, as you put it, it's overused, but it still works. I think as long as you can write it right, it won't be so old. But anyway, I had a lot of people upset that I kept Remy in Rogue's mind and have kept him there for 27 chapters and counting... As for Kitty, I think she's not invulnerable, because in order to punch somebody, she needs to stop her energy. So Kitty's kinda all defense and no offense, usually, but if she ever needs to take out somebody, she has to risk losing her intangibility to clock a guy... but in any case, thanks for the compliment! Ah yes, the French. I had a tough time with that. So you notice that I try not to incorporate it too much with my writing.

gecko: Okay, I didn't know that Logan had heightened hearing, too. (Although that would make sense, since he has heightened smell, why not heightened everything else?) Let's just say that the walls are thick and even Logan couldn't hear Rogue. But you know that almost eerie sixth sense that you have that you get in cartoons when your friend is in trouble? Well, that kicked in with Kitty. So it might very well be that Kitty only imagined she heard something cuz she's kinda nervous for Rogue.

disturbedRoge: Yeah, cartoon characters can't seem to stay dead. Especially in the Marvel world. But in Japanese anime, it happens all the time. It's quite depressing. There was this cartoon that I watched when I was a little girl called ... I can't remember the name, now, but it was about 5 superheroes that were called the Eagles and they went around in transformer fighter jets for the good of the world. But they killed one of the original five and never brought him back to life, and I remember being absolutely devastated...(at such a tender age...)   


Ryan T. Nelson: Thank you for that Remy dialogue. Made me feel giddy all readin' it, but anyway, hope you enjoyed all the explosions and such.

Okay, anyway, that does it for me. I forgot to eat again, so I'm gonna go grab a Subway, but yall keep tuned. Since, we solved Rogue's problem, and the demutagen problem, there's only one more problem left to tackle. Yall know the one... And hopefully, it'll be fun solving that one, too... assuming that is, it gets solved at all... DUN DUN DUN~~!

Ciao~


	28. Bliss

"Hi."

She silently mouthed a 'hi' back. And smiled. A little weak, but incredibly sincere. It was one of those tiny smiles, the ones that only stimulated the outer corners of the mouth and hooked north in a seamless grace that was in two words, breathtakingly feminine. Her eyes were droopy, as if her lashes were weighing them down. Her breathing was regular, her chest rising and dropping like calm waves. But she was lying down, unable to get up or move. The world she occupied was black and empty. There was nothing within, no landscape, no smell nor sound. Just darkness. Just her, darkness and of course, him.

He was knelt by her side, and moved by the smile, he gently lifted her compliant form up into his arms. She didn't struggle, namely, because she couldn't. All of the things that had happened to her was a blur, and she could care less if they remained that way. The only thing she felt was this dead tiredness. Exhaustion so thorough that it was hindering both the mind and the body. Even her awareness was dwindling. But she was aware he was carrying her. And she was aware of his silence.

Her body immobilized, her thoughts lazy and her vision blackening, she began to think that maybe she was dying. She didn't want to die. But she was at so much peace. Here in his arms, where he could carry her forever and ever into some unknown realm. And she could spend the rest of her days, bathed in darkness and peace, with only her sweet, kind Angel of Death by her side. Then, maybe, dying wouldn't be so bad.

Harsh, white light invaded her vision as she immediately clenched her eyes shut and grimaced. The odor of burnt smoke filled her nostrils. She instantly felt scathing pain in her shoulder or leg or thigh. She wasn't certain whether she had any parts in her body that didn't feel like they'd been scoured with sandpaper. She attempted to open her eyes again and she saw more blinding white. Closing her eyes, then opening them, then closing and opening, she finally managed to discern a white blurry ceiling. She still wasn't sure where she was, but she was definitely atop a bed. And she wasn't alone in it.

Her head slowly swiveled to the side. And she saw a blurry form of tan flesh, she wanted to rub her eyes, but her arms throbbed in pain when she moved them. Squeezing her eyes and wringing them dry, she opened them again and now she saw Remy. He was lying next to her, his arm running parallel to hers, his eyes closed as if he was in peaceful slumber.

"Hey, you awake?"

Rogue's eyes found the origin of the voice and found Kitty above her with a wet hand towel. She smiled down at her.

"How you feelin'?" Kitty asked.

Rogue didn't answer, just blinked. Then looked back at Remy next to her.

"Hope you don't mind sleepin' next to him. We're like kinda short on beds. I didn't think you'd mind much," she said, and winked. Rogue saw through the façade. Kitty was worn out, bags under her eyes, a sag in her shoulders and unkempt hair. Rogue wished she could help her, but she couldn't move. She couldn't even talk. Kitty set the cold towel onto Rogue's shoulder, and Rogue flinched.

"You got a couple bullet wounds. We'll get it out soon, but you're gonna have to wait a little," Kitty   


said. She moved to wash the blood off the cloth. "You know you scared me to death. But then I probably should be used to it by now, huh? If you weren't so injured and helpless, I'd totally give you a piece of my mind. Can't believe you absorbed me so you can go save your boyfriend. Not that I'm resentful, I'm glad you put me to good use, it's just that you can really fry somebody's nerves sometimes. I hope Remy knows what he's getting into. Cause, like, I wouldn't be surprised if he starts getting like ulcers after the third month of dating you or something. You listenin'?"

When Kitty turned back to Rogue, her eyes were closed. She had slipped back into unconsciousness; her forehead resting lightly upon Remy's shoulder, her hand innocently placed in his. Kitty stopped. There was something so heartbreaking about Rogue's serene face next to Remy's. Kitty didn't even want to acknowledge that Rogue's efforts might have been in vain, but she couldn't help wonder how Remy might ever wake up from his coma. Rogue had fought so hard to get him. She put her life on the line and risked everything. But the only thing she might have gained was this one moment.

"Too bad neither of you guys are conscious to know how happy you are, huh?" Kitty said to a silent room. She turned back to her water basin, taking the towel and wiping off the rest of Rogue's wounds.

*

*

"Ah think it makes more sense," Rogue started, her eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Because if the egg came first, and there's no chicken to incubate it, then the egg would die and the first chicken would have never been born."

She was lounging in a long skiff that slowly made its way down a picturesque canal. Remy sat at the helm, rhythmically rowing it along the water. His oars dipped, cut and pulled. Dipped, cut and pulled. The sun was warm on their skins. The water was nice and cool to the touch. And Rogue and Remy spent their afternoon with leisure, letting time and worry slip away from them.

"How did we get on dis topic, anyway?" Remy asked, a little annoyed that his time with Rogue was spent on debating whether the chicken came before the egg or visa versa.

Rogue shrugged. Then with a sigh, she leaned her head back onto the edge of the skiff, letting her hair tumble over the side. The soft tips of her hair trailed in the water as she looked up at the sky which was perfect blue with beautiful, white fluffy clouds. It never ceased to amaze her how lifelike her mind's world was.

"This is nice," she exhaled softly.

"Oui," Remy agreed. "Kinda reminds me of Venice."

Rogue smiled. "That's what Ah was goin' for. Always wanted ta take a boat ride in Venice."

"Dis ain't too far off. But a lot more people in de water if de weather's dis nice. Water's a lot dirtier in de real t'ing, too, and den dere's de crooked ferryman who wants t'overcharge de pretty, little, naïve tourist girl."

"Is that right?" Rogue asked, offering Remy a bland look.

"It is," Remy nodded. And then he winked at Rogue. "B'lieve me, I'd know. The ferryman's a relative o'mine."   


Rogue smiled. "And since when do you have an Italian relative, Monsieur LeBeau?"

"Dat's de beauty of bein' adopted into an international organization, neh? Dere's Uncle Abubu, Aunt Mei Mei, Cousin Olaf…"

"You're makin' those names up!"

"I swear t'you I'm not," he said, raising his right hand in solemnity. "I'd never lie t'you, chere, y'know dat." He gave her a lopsided grin, but it slowly melted away and a steady look took its place. He wet his lips, which Rogue noticed he did rather habitually when he was nervous or felt awkward. He looked down into the water, a lock of his hair lightly fluttering against his shapely brow, dividing his well-proportioned eyes. He stopped rowing, letting the oars rest against the edge of the boat, and they floated aimlessly with the slow current. He leaned forward, elbows on knees, and looked into his hands that he held gently clasped before him. There was an amused glint in his eyes. Rogue couldn't help but wonder what thoughts inhabited his mind. She thought it was funny how Remy lived in her head, but she didn't possess his thoughts. She really didn't know too much about him.

"Hey Remy," she called out. When he looked up, she was also bent forward, her elbows braced upon her knees, her hands cupping her chin. "If we get you back into your body, do you have to go back to Magneto? Ah mean, he still has you under his contract, right?"

"Yeah, well, Magneto kinda broke one of the clauses. Don' t'ink de Guild will let him have me back when he tried t'kill me."

"If the Guild tells you to go back, then do you have to go back?"

He smiled at the question, but there wasn't much joy in his eyes. He tipped his head forward and leaned sideways into one of his fists. She looked at him, patiently awaiting his answer. Finally, he nodded. Confusion spread across her face.

"Why?"

"Chere, dey won't send me back t'Magneto."

"No, Ah mean why do you have to do things that you don't want to do?"

"Sometimes, you can't escape y'responsibilities," he said with a wistful note. "No matter how much y'want to."

"What does that mean? What responsibilities?" Rogue leaned forward closer. "Remy, you can tell me."

He smiled at her again, that lopsided grin and then wet his lips. "Ever hear of prearranged nuptial agreements?"

Rogue blinked. "What?"

"I'm engaged, Rogue. Been engaged f'about ten years, now." "Engaged?" Rogue asked in shock. "Ya mean, like marriage-engaged?"

He nodded again. Then smiled, apparently he was having a kick observing Rogue's reaction.   


"Wait a minute, ten years ago? Doesn't that make you, like, nine?" Rogue asked, doing the math in her head. "You got engaged at nine?"

"It was a contractual deal. Dere was a competing guild about ten years ago back in N'Awlins, an' us an' dem, guess we had a pretty ugly past together. Lot o'deaths and feuds an' all. But when de Guild chose m'father t'head de eastern coast o'de States, he wanted t'bury de hatchet forever between de two guilds and merge dem into one, so it'll be easier t'manage in de future. But de ot'er guild didn't want t'be just absorbed an' forgotten, so in order t'establish equal power from both family lines, dey chose me an' de ot'er guildleader's first daughter t'tie de knot and eventually head de N'Awlins guild. So when I was around nine, dey gave me an engagement party an' I got a fiancé."

"But that's… that's wrong!" Rogue blurted out.

"Well, chere, apparently stealing's wrong, too, but we do dat pretty readily," Remy shrugged.

"Don't you care? Ah mean, aren't you mad that your life is all planned out for you, already? What if you don't like the girl or you don't want to get married?"

"Of course, I care. Who likes de idea of being forced t'marry someone y'don't even know?" "Ya don't even know her?"

"Well, no, I've seen her once or twice. Around town, here an' dere. T'ink I even got t'talk t'her once during some guild party."

"That's the most ridiculous thing Ah've ever heard! So are ya gonna marry her?"

Remy sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "I was actually supposed t'marry her a couple months ago." "But ya didn't?" Rogue asked. She was happy to hear that at least, but this was rather unsettling news. "I took de job wit Magneto instead."

Rogue stopped. It made sense now. Why Remy had decided to work for Magneto. He was trying to desperately delay the inevitable. But was it inevitable? Since Remy couldn't go back to Magneto anymore, didn't that mean the only thing left to do was to get married to her in New Orleans?

"Isn't there a way to dissolve it?" Rogue asked.

He shook his head. "T'ought of everyt'ing really. Even made a pretty dirty reputation in N'Awlins, but f'some reason, no one wants t'back out on de deal."

"Can't ya go back an' like talk with somebody about it? Maybe if the girl doesn't want to do it either, then you can just both refuse to get married."

"Too much politics involved. Won't work dat easily. B'sides, don' really want to step foot in de town. Left about t'ree years ago, an' didn't return since. Was kind' hoping dey might take me f'dead. But it's hard when de Guild knows everyt'ing y'do."

"Well, you're in a coma, if that helps," Rogue tossed cynically.

"Guess it does help…" Remy trailed off. She watched him silently. He looked up, then smiled. "Hey,   


don't give me dat look." "What look?"

"De 'Poor Remy' look. Cheer up, it's not like dey gon' marry me off while I'm unconscious." "Yeah, but what if you wake up, what then?"

"Den we celebrate 'cause I just woke up from a coma," he said. "It's a win-win situation, if y'ask me, chere."

Her mouth was a little agape. "Your optimism amazes me," she said dumbly.

"Live for de moment, hein?" he said, his voice low. He took her by the hand and pulled her close to him. "Y'know, you owe me some kisses."

"Ah do?" she asked, trying to fight the sudden rush of blood to her face. He sat her on his knee and stroked her hair back with his hand, letting his fingers explore the soft skin of her cheeks, her ears and her neck. She closed her eyes, trying to feel every facet of his touch. She opened them again and gave him a suspicious stare. "Ah thought the agreement was that you show me the pinky trick first," she said, flexing her pinky in front of him.

He raised an eyebrow. "Which pinky trick do you want to know?" he asked huskily, a dirty joke danced behind his eyes.

She gave him a questioning look. "There's more than one?" she asked plainly, looking innocently at him. He gave a short laugh, and she remained puzzled.

He pulled her head in close and kissed her on the earlobe. "I am going t'have so much fun corrupting you," he whispered dangerously in her ear. She squirmed. And pulled back off of him.

"Ah don't feel comfortable doin' this with an engaged man," she said suddenly, looking at him with stern eyes.

Remy stared back at her, his mouth parted in disbelief. "Wait… what?" he asked.

Rogue suddenly broke out into a grin, and dipping her hand into the water, she splashed it at him, spraying him on the face and chest. He tried to evade it, as she laughed and continued to assault him with both arms. Finally, he stood up and tried to hold her hands down, but she scooted back and stood poised on the narrow bow of the skiff. Giving him a brilliant smile, she neatly flipped back off the boat and dived into the water. Her head popped up a few feet away from the skiff, water glistening off her skin and cascading down her hair.

"C'mon in, Remy, the water feels fine," she said, and then laughed, not managing to deliver the line with as much sex appeal as she wanted to.

"Don' t'ink dat I'm not going to," he replied with amusement. Swinging his legs out of the skiff, he splashed into the water. He swam next to her and finding her waist under the water, he put his arms around it and pulled her in. He locked his arms at the elbows and held her tight. "Try t'get away dis time," he challenged. "Now back to de contract at hand."

"What contract?" Rogue asked playfully, bringing her arms up from the water and letting it slosh on top   


of Remy's shoulders.

"I b'lieve you told me, verbatim, dat you were gon' let me kiss y'as much as I want, if we can jus' get out alive," Remy said. He looked at Rogue's eyes, then her lips. "An' I t'ink it's time f'me t'get my due, non?"

Rogue smiled but it slowly faded, not arguing anymore. Honestly, she was a little scared. Being this close to a guy was something quite new to her. And although this was her mind, and could not be considered an actual experience, she was nervous. She held still, her neck a little stiff, as she felt his tight arms around her loosening and letting the buoyancy of the water bring her face level to his. Suddenly, the world around them became quiet and dark. The water remained. And aside from the quiet breathing between the two of them, only the lapping of the small waves in the water was heard. The sky around them turned midnight blue, with soft blinking lights that glowed like pyre flies all around them.

Remy smiled, a small tug on the left corner of his mouth, as he admired Rogue's clear, white face. She kept her eyes modestly bowed down and he lifted a hand out of the water to touch her skin and gently stroke her brow. Her lashes fluttered up and he finally saw her eyes, a deep sparkly green that caught all the strange light around them, making them glitter and shimmer in an otherworldly way. He leaned forward and touched her lips to his, brushing it softly then lightly pressed against it. He played with them a little, tenderly suckling at her bottom lip, then pulling back and kissing them again. When he stopped, her lips quivered against his, and he distanced himself a few inches to look at her.

"Y'okay?" he asked.

Her face broke into a nervous smile and she turned her face away as she bit her lip. "Yeah, Ah'm… fine," she laughed awkwardly. "Just kinda new to this kissin' business…" She groaned suddenly and slapped her hand on her forehead, then peeped one eye at him. "Ah'm sorry, am Ah totally killin' the moment?"

He chuckled and leaning forward, he pressed his cheek on hers and wrapping his arms above her shoulders, he hugged her, burying her head in his arms. He possessively held onto the top of her head and stroked her hair. Not knowing what to do with her own arms, Rogue finally placed them loosely at Remy's waist. He didn't let go of her, repeatedly stroking her hair. They stayed quiet, not exchanging a single word for a long time. Rogue waited for Remy to release her, but he didn't, just kept his arms around her shoulders, his hand cradling her head, as if he was protecting a child from cold wind.

"Remy?" Rogue asked quietly. "Hmm?"

"Are you okay?"

He didn't answer right away, still keeping his body nestled close to her in that tight embrace. "Don' t'ink I ever held anybody like dis b'fore. Jus' feels… different."

"Different?" "S'nice."

Rogue became quiet again. It was probably the first time she was held like this, too. It really was nice.   


Warm, safe, comforting.

But something nagged at her. As if there was a sadness about it that neither one of them wanted to pursue or even acknowledge. She brought her arms tighter around him. Remy kept stroking her hair.

**//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////**

**Sunning's Original Author's Note (too long for end notes):**

Hello my readers, girls and boys of all ages~ I hope that this chapter wasn't too much of a drastic change: from testosterone charged action to all this lovey-dovey romance and poetic drama. They are two quite different animals, aren't they? It's weird. When I need to write action, I want to hurry up and write romance. And when I need to write romance, I want to write action. I'm never happy~! But anyway, we had like action ever since like chapter 17 or whatever, so I'm finally giving you some classic Remy/Rogue mush. Actually, I don't think mine's really classic. I tried to take a little different approach with the mush in this chapter. So here's my clarification pointers:

  1. One glaring thing that stands out, I think, is Rogue's prudeness. She's kinda scared in this one. Yes, the girl's good at taking down an army of men, beating down evil villains and keeping her cool when friends are hurt and explosions are going off everywhere, but she can't handle a simple kiss scene. And I think that's understandable right? Rogue is first of all young (only 16 in this fic) and she's shunned human contact most of her life, and plus Remy is like this sex god, so of course, she should be freaked out! And for those of you thinking, "hey, seven, this ain't Rogue's first kiss scene!", I must say you're right. But her first kiss with Remy, Rogue was rather intoxicated with the self-hatred empathy and she wasn't really thinking straight. And the second time, she just pecked him on the lips, mostly out of impulse, and she was kinda confused then, too. But this is like the first time she has all her mental faculties and the atmosphere is quite "make-out" scene-ish. But in any case, even the times she kissed before, she was kinda timid and frightened... and those aren't Rogue qualities, but I think she should definitely be a little awkward in the romance department.
  2. And then there's Remy. He is a sex god. And yet I decided to end the chapter with him hugging Rogue, quite innocently, almost paternally. Because well, I think Remy's the kind of guy who doles out physical affection, but it's kinda his first time being so emotionally hooked on somebody. I'm actually a sucker for the classic fairy tale, where there's the damsel in distress and the knight in shining armor that springs to her rescue. But if you noticed, the action so far has portrayed the gender switch, where Rogue is rescuing Remy from Essex's lair. And I'm using this scene to kinda bring back the notion of the fragile girl and the protective guy. And I don't consider myself sexist or feminist, but I just like scenes like this. I dunno, maybe I'm not making any sense, here.



Anyway, it's nothing terribly new. And I'm sure all of yall can handle it.

As for personal reviews, I think I'll keep it short this time, folks. Sorry. I'll just answer a few questions people had here and there.

lady aurra: Yes, this is my first fanfic. But I read a lot of them previously. And it just got to a point where I knew what kinda things I liked to read, hated to read, wanted to read, etc. etc.

ish: I think it's genii, pronounced "genee-i" but then I looked in the dictionary and I guess "geniuses" implies "more than one genius" and "genii" means more than one "spirit or jinni." I've actually never heard of the word jinni. You learn something new everyday.

roguestar: Well, I havent' decided how many chapters it's gonna take to conclude this story. I don't know... maybe it'll end the next one... but anyway, I usually err on the side of writing more than less...

classic tinker: Once again, thank you for the lovely long review. I really do love reading it! Oh and   


you're totally right about how Essex managed to get all the X-men. Plus, I'm sure Essex used the kids to get the adults to be a little more compliant (yunno, like "you hold still, now, Storm, or little Jamie here gets it!") and I did mention that most of the mutants had their powers negated once they entered. So anyway, what's important is that they all went down one way or another. Oh btw, they didn't find any Morlocks or BoM members in the file cabinets, so Evan actually wasn't there. Oh and I'm basing this on how Evan left the X-men to go live with the Morlocks.

ryan t. nelson: Ummm... yeah, about what happened to everybody, and how a group of superheroes got vulnerably attacked by one man... please refer to Classic Tinker's reply in the review section... Sorry, I'm just lazy. And if you can't believe me, another girl dealt with it by saying a "wizard did it." But anyway, thanks for the nice comments and I DO appreciate the constructive criticism. And I'll just apologize now for any further plot holes you might find. As for any original work, I'm not sure if I can produce original characters. I just want to finish my lil flirtation with the X-men fandom and then maybe I'll try to get my brain working towards something that I can make profit out of. =P

Okay... whoops... forgot to eat again. I'm gonna go grab some sustenance and I hope yall enjoyed the romance. =)


	29. Suicide

"Now keep y'arms straight, an' just pull back," Remy said, standing closely behind Rogue with his long arms covering hers as she attempted to swing a golf club. "Twist y'body a little, too," he said, two hands sliding over her hips and molding them to the slant of his body. He leaned forward over her left shoulder, his mouth next to her ear, "Never remembered golf t'be dis exciting…"

"You're makin' me lose my concentration," Rogue stated, keeping her eyes on the ball.

"Dat's de point." He grinned deviously, then pressed his lips to her jaw line and proceeded to kiss her all the way down to the base of her neck.

Without any warning, Rogue pulled back the club. It arched high and dipped behind her, almost hitting Remy. He ducked out of the way, and Rogue let go of the swing. There was a thudding sound as the club hit the grass, sprayed dirt everywhere and cut nothing but soil. But the ball flew anyway. High and true, until it landed on green, rolled and dropped into the hole almost 500 feet away. Rogue turned daintily and gave Remy a mischievous smile.

Remy clapped lackadaisically, his eyes half-closed and not amused. "Look at dat. Another hole-in- one."

"What can Ah say? Ah guess Ah'm a natural," she said, shrugging primly and twirling her golf club in her hand.

Remy had to smile at her. Rogue had become a lot more, well, roguish. She was quick to joke, and not even in that bitingly sarcastic way either. Her face was bright and her body language had gotten a lot more hospitable. If there wasn't a smile on her face, it was in her eyes. She was even willing to wear ultra preppy clothes for the purposes of playing the part of the golfer. Although she forced Remy to wear the customary khakis and polo shirt along with her, he didn't mind, considering he got to see her model a pleated white miniskirt and knee-high socks. She also wore a short-sleeve polo tee and a bright yellow sweater wrapped over her shoulders in that ever-so-yuppy way. Her hair was tied in two braids and she wore a button cap, impishly turned to the side.

"Is dat so? 'Cause I could have sworn y'hit not'ing but dirt," he said, pointing at the six-inch-deep groove the club made upon swing.

"You're just jealous 'cause Ah'm winnin'." "Oui. But y'cheat."

"Maybe, but ya know what?" she asked him, observing her golf club with feigned interest. "What?"

"Ask me if Ah care." With a fling, Rogue tossed the club and it hurtled into the sky and disappeared among the clouds. Remy gave a helpless smile and rubbed his forehead with a sigh.

"Ya look very cute in your outfit by the way," Rogue said, eyeing the canary yellow color of his cotton polo shirt.

"I look cute in any outfit," he said with an air of pomposity, and smoothed his bangs over his head.   


Rogue stared at him, a little annoyed by his ego but even more annoyed by the fact that she was attracted to it. He caught her eye, and then breaking out into a grin, he swooped in and encircling her slim waist in his arms, he picked her up and turned her in the air. He stopped and they lightly bumped foreheads. "But don' get me started on how cute y'look, chere. Y'makin' me feel downright pedophile- ish."

"Ya kiddin' me, right? This barf of an outfit turns ya on?"

"Chere, y'could be wearin' a dishrag an' it'll turn me on," he said as if that was something to be proud of. "Actually, if y'wore nothin' but a dishrag…"

She whacked him on the shoulder with her open palm. "You're such a perv," she said narrowing her eyes at him.

"But I'm a cute perv, neh?" he said, lifting his eyebrows and giving her a disarming smile. Much to her dismay, she found herself smiling back at him. He cupped her cheeks with his hands and kissed her. And she kissed back.

There was probably something wrong with Rogue's body in the real world. Because she wasn't waking up from her dream. Although they couldn't be sure of what time it was and how many days had elapsed, they did know that she had been in here, well over a few days. Usually, Rogue's world would fade to black or she would get dizzy and lose control of the setting in her mind and that would indicate she was waking up. However, no such thing happened ever since she fell unconscious after the battle with Essex and the escape with Remy's body. The last real, tangible person she had sensed was Kitty when she was cleaning Rogue's bullet wounds. Thus, they had no idea what was going on outside Rogue's mind, and no clue as to why she wasn't waking up yet.

But Rogue wasn't concerned, and if she was, she didn't show it. They assumed that her body was probably getting some well-needed rest, and they spent their time together unperturbed by worry. It almost seemed like they were honeymooning. Between the two of them, they had imagined all sorts of different things to do. From waterskiing to snowboarding to racecar driving, there was no end to the fun they had with each other. And as the hours dwindled by, their activities became more mellowed and more intimate. They talked. A simple, basic activity, but it was a monumental feat for both of them. She told him more about her past. Her recent discovery that Mystique was her adoptive mother, which would make Kurt her stepbrother. How bad it hurt when Risty betrayed her, and how much it confused her to think that Risty and thus, Mystique, might have genuinely cared for her. In return, he told her more about the Thieves Guild. He was apparently adopted by his father, Jean Luc, and grew up in New Orleans with his brother and many cousins. Although the idea that Remy was part of an internationally organized crime syndicate made Rogue a little nervous, from what she gathered, Remy's childhood was pretty normal. Normal not in the literal sense, considering all the thieves training, the early engagement and criminalization, but normal in that he had a family that looked out for him.

"So what did you do after you left New Orleans?" Rogue asked.

"Traveled a lot," Remy answered, lying down barefoot in a hammock in an unbuttoned linen shirt and surfer shorts. Rogue lied down next to him, using his arm as a pillow. She had on a long, linen sundress that bared her arms which he stroked with his thumb absentmindedly as he watched a tropical beach in front of him and heard the twittering of exotic birds and the distant crashing of ocean waves.

"To where?"   


"Everywhere. Europe, Africa, Asia, just everywhere." "Must have been fun."

"It was, f'de most part. But started getting a li'l homesick after a couple years." "How old were you?"

"Sixteen when I left. I was supposed t'go t'Cote d'Azur an' finish an assignment for a client in Miami, but when dat got done, ended up helping out a different guild member in de French Riviera and jus' fell into taking one job after another and almost walked de whole globe in about t'ree years."

"Sounds excitin'," Rogue said.

"Can't remember de places I visited much, never had much time t'do de whole tourist t'ing."

"Still," Rogue said, her voice far away. "Always wanted ta travel, but never really been out of the States. Ah don't think Ah've even been ta Canada," she laughed.

"Y'know, come t't'ink of it, I never been t'Canada either." "Imagine that."

"Maybe we go together someday, ey?" he joked, pressing his chin onto the top of her head. "Yeah, someday…" her voice trailed, colored with a tinge of sadness.

Remy understood what she was thinking. "But y'know dere is one place I do remember as if I was dere yesterday," his voice picked up, quickly changing the subject.

"Where?"

"Prague."

"Prague? Ya mean like the Czech Republic?" she asked, intrigued.

"Oui. I had some crazy fun dere," he said with amusement practically dripping from each word. "See, it was me an' a t'ief named Ladislav, and we had an assignment t'lift an imperial painting from inside o'de Prague Castle. An' we followed de painting t'Maastricht where it was being studied by a bunch of art students…"

He explained the ordeal with animation and Rogue laughed heartily, reliving his memory as if it was her own. When Remy had finished the story, the sun had set on their postcard-perfect beach and the stars blinked on, the ocean waters mirroring their light. The night air was cool and a blissful silence enveloped them as their hammock slowly swayed back and forth.

Rogue sighed, looking up at the stars, wondering how far they went, how far she could imagine them to be. Her world was so perfect. And she was so happy. The only thing she dreaded was waking back up. Remy watched the stars through the reflection in Rogue's eyes. He was about to ask her what she was thinking about, but she spoke first.

"What if Ah just decided to stay here…" she said softly.   


"What do y'mean?"

"Here in my head, with you." "But den what about y'body?"

"Ah suppose it'd just fall away into a coma, like yours." He didn't answer. Didn't know what to answer.

"Ah want to stay in this dream world forever and ever." "Dat's suicide, chere," he said.

She smiled at his remark. "Ah suppose it is," she replied. "But what's wrong with that, if Ah'm happier here?"

"Because," Remy said, his voice solemn. "None of dis is f'real." "It feels real to me."

He didn't reply back.

"It's just so cold out there, Remy," she said, and her voice rang dead. "Nothin' but one problem and disappointment after another. If we just stay in here, we can avoid all the heartache. You can quit running away from an unwanted marriage, and Ah can finally have some peace. No more dealing with mutant terrorists or hate crimes or people like Essex…" The hammock below them tilted up, depositing their bodies upright on the sandy beach. She stood in the sand, her arms folded in front of her, and she looked at the sea, which was dark and resembled nothing. The more she tried to discern the darkness of the sky from the darkness of the sea, the more confused she got and her beautiful night island setting slowly dissolved, slipping away from her. Until Remy and Rogue stood in a dark room, uniform in color.

Rogue was crying.

"C'mon, Remy, what do you say?" she said, turning to him and her face was smiling, but her eyes were wet with tears. "Commit suicide with me?" She laughed at the joke. Tears running down her cheeks.

His arms went around her, pulling her close. He pressed his cheek on her head, and rocked her to and fro. She stood still in his arms. He took a deep breath, and then pulled away slowly. Dipping his face close to hers, he wiped away her tears with his thumbs. He looked at her calmly, his eyes sincere and warm.

"I do whatever y'want to do."

In one moment, Rogue's face fell and her heart broke into a million pieces. She put her arms around Remy's neck, whispering, "Ah'm sorry… Ah'm sorry…"

Of course, he has to do whatever she wants to do. He was completely dependant upon her. She forgot that this was her reality. She couldn't give up on her life, even if she wanted to. Because she would be giving up on Remy's too.   


"Hey, s'okay," he said, hushing her apologies. "If suicide's dis nice, den I'm a little tempted m'self."

He held her loosely around the shoulders and waited for her sobs to subside until he spoke up again. "Just have dis feeling dat y'might regret not giving de real t'ing a chance. I know y'feel older, because y'absorbed a lot of suffering, you saw a lot o'bad life experiences. But de t'ing is, you only sixteen, and de fun hasn't even started. Y'give life a chance, and sometimes it has dis tendency t'surprise you. M'not saying it's gon' be all pleasant, but dey won't all be bad. An' who knows if we're cheating ourselves from a greater happiness, jus' 'cause we were too scared t'give it a chance?"

Rogue nodded, drinking in his words. Of course, he was right. He was always right. She sighed then leaned on Remy. "You're really smart, Remy," she said, suddenly exhausted.

He laughed. "T'ink you're de first t'ever t'ink so." "Well, Ah mean it," she said drowsily.

He shrugged. "What can I say? Remy be de cute, perverted genius, non?"

She smiled. Her eyes shut, as if they had lead-weights on them. Her body slipped to the side and she felt Remy catch her in his arms. She was waking up. Perhaps it was her doing all along. Her desire to avoid reality that was keeping her sedated in her dream world. But now, she had to get up. There were things to do. Things to set back right.

*

*

When she woke up, she found an oxygen mask covering her nose and mouth, a set of beeping noises coming from above her, a blood-pressure cuff around her arm and a plastic chip clipped onto her forefinger. She blinked and her whole body was slow and groggy. When she turned to look where she was, she found herself in the Med Bay. And when she looked to her right, outside of the glass doors, she saw a pair of feet almost dangling off the bed in the other room. Somebody came into the hallway, and she couldn't see the feet anymore. The automatic doors of her room swished open.

"Rogue?" It was Mr. McCoy, completely healed, dressed in his doctor's coat, with his glasses perched over his nose. She smiled.

"Hi," she said, her voice sunken with sleep.

"Oh, thank the stars you're awake!" he exclaimed. "I must tell everybody the good news!" and turned around, but then he turned again. "No, wait, I should probably make sure you're okay, first!"

He bounded to her side, checking her blood pressure, heart rate, eye dilation and reflexes. She kept still so he could administer all the tests without any fuss.

"Well, it seems you're mostly restored. Everything seems normal, and your wounds are closing up nicely," he said, indicating her left shoulder and right thigh. They were wrapped in bandages. She wondered if Sabretooth's power had enough time to restore itself by now.

"How long was Ah out?" she asked.

"You were in a coma, Rogue, for about ten days."   


She made a look of mild surprise. "Wow… ten… was thinkin' it was more like five… Ah guess time flies when you're havin' fun, huh?"

"Excuse me?" Mr. McCoy asked, raising an eyebrow at her rather odd remark. "Nothin'."

"It's a miracle that you're alive, Rogue. You don't know what state I found you in. Kitty and Logan did as best as they could with your body, but there was a chance you very well may have died."

She looked at the bandages on her shoulder. "Was it that bad?" she asked, indicating the bullet wound.

"Well, you did lose a lot of blood, yes, but it wasn't only the bullet injuries. Your body was physically exerted to its limits and you weren't even in top form when you started. You had symptoms of high mal- nutrition and dehydration, not to mention the mental breakdown you suffered when the Professor entered your mind. You were very lucky, young lady," he said nodding gravely.

She smiled weakly. "You were pretty lucky, too, Mr. McCoy."

"Oh that's right. You saved my life, didn't you?" he said. Then he leaned over her and gave her a hug. She gave a short laugh, a little surprised by the gesture, but when his huge arms went over her, tenderly embracing her so it wouldn't cause her discomfort, she wrapped both her arms firmly around his neck and pecked him on the cheek. He smiled back at her.

"Kitty tells me you got control over your powers," he said, his eyes sparkling. She nodded.

"That's my girl," he said quietly, patting her on the back. "I knew you'd get the hang of it, sooner or later."

"ROGUE!"

Mr. McCoy and Rogue both turned to the door. Kitty stood there, her eyes wide and now they were glistening and then brimming with tears.

"Hey, Kit," Rogue croaked.

Kitty bit her lip, then glared at her. "You bitch," she said, tears tumbling down her cheeks and then she ran to Rogue's side and fiercely hugged her. Rogue smiled.

"Ya miss me?"

"Just shut-up. You got everybody worrying sick and I was gonna go out of my mind if you didn't wake up from your stupid coma any time soon."

Rogue looked at Kitty, and wiped the tears off her friend's face. "You're such a drama queen," Rogue said affectionately.

Kitty shook her head, frowning, then she laughed. And Rogue laughed too. Mr. McCoy excused himself, humming a tune as he walked out.   


"How is everybody?" Rogue asked, after Kitty settled down a bit.

"They're okay, thanks to the antidote," Kitty said. "You know, we're heroes, right? Like, I don't have to do kitchen duty for a year!"

"Sweet," Rogue said. "Ah knew there had to be an upside to almost dyin'." "Hey don't joke about that, we actually thought you were gonna die," Kitty said. "Is that Remy?" Rogue asked, looking out her door and into the next.

Kitty nodded. "Is he still in your head?"

Rogue didn't answer, just looked out the door at the foot of his bed. "He's not hurt, is he?" "He got some minor burns on his feet, but it's probably already healed by now," Kitty said. Rogue nodded. "So what happened? Any news about Essex or Magneto?"

"Well, Sabretooth ran off with Magneto and we don't know where they are, and we haven't heard from them ever since that day at Essex's creepy hideout. And we're not sure what happened to Essex, either, but I guess like Hartwell Labs and a bunch of its sister labs are like closing down."

"Why?"

"Well, I guess they were doing a lot of tests on humans an' stuff. And somebody tipped the authorities, so all their research has been stopped and there are investigators trying to figure out who to put the blame on."

"Who tipped them?"

Kitty shrugged, but Rogue already had a sense of who it was. "Did all the mutants get out safe that day?" Rogue asked.

Kitty nodded. "Most of them went home. Man, you should have seen this place, Rogue. It was packed. I guess Essex abducted a lot of regular mutants, too. You know, like kidnap them or trick them into helping him out and stuff, and they all got suckered into the demutagen. But we got them fixed, and most of them went back to their day-to-day lives. I mean, the Professor offered them to stay, but I think he was even glad that most of them said no since we really had no room to put them."

" 'Most of them'? Who stayed?" Rogue asked.

"John and Piotr. Piotr says he's gonna crash here until he determines what he's gonna do next. And well, John says he's gonna crash here until Piotr figures something out or until Remy wakes up."

"Is John okay? Ah mean, if he got DNA surgery then it probably wasn't as easy as stickin' him with the antidote, was it?"

"That's the thing. That night, Mr. Logan and I ran into John, or Pyro, in any case it wasn't the real him. Remember how Mr. McCoy was saying that the Pyro he examined that day was kinda mechanical and stiff? Well, that wasn't the real Pyro."   


"What do ya mean?"

"We think it was a clone." "What? A clone?"

Kitty nodded. "And Mr. Logan killed him, the clone, and then while we were escaping, we found the real Pyro in one of the file cabinets. Boy, were we surprised. And he didn't have any surgery done on him or anything. And when we injected the antidote in him, he healed up just as quickly as everybody else."

"Ah guess that's good," Rogue said, but she wasn't sure. She was glad that Pyro was okay and she could sense that Remy was relieved. But she had a bad feeling about this cloning business.

But she couldn't dwell on the issue too long, because with another swish and another loud exclamation of "ROGUE!" she was busy getting hugs and thank yous and well wishes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunning's Original Author's Note:  
> well, I guess this wasn't the last chapter, was it? Actually just get rid of the whole idea of this is gonna end soon. My original plan was to finish this by may 2nd, X-men 2 premiere day, but I don't think that's gonna happen. But anyway, I'll try for it anyway. So I put more romance in the beginning, just because I noticed I got like twice as much reviews for the last chapter than any other one. And I guess my audience responds more to romance. (You guys are a buncha sappy romantics~~) So let me take some time to respond personally to some, but again, if I missed you, then it's not cuz I don't like ya, it's cuz I actually need to be writing a report on Cholera right about now, and I have only a little time allotted for all these responses. =P Thank you though. For all your support and compliments, you don't know how vain I've become... =P
> 
> Panther Nesmith: So you have a household of girls obsessed with X-men fanfic? That sounds so kooky, that it might work as a fresh, new fanfic idea~! Anyway, I can't believe I'm just as good as coffee ice cream. I mean, coffee ice cream... those are quite big shoes to fill. So anyway, thanks for playing catch-up and get some beauty sleep, and it's okay, cuz prom's not that great anyway.
> 
> Denial: The story might have been a lot better because you were kinda reading it throught that sleepy haze... but get some sleep anyway.
> 
> one23mad: Oh my goodness~! I had no idea I wrote about an egg! Seriously, I wasn't like thinking about you and your dream or anything like that! Honest! This is freaky. Yunno what this means, right? YOu did ESP! I mean what's the odds of dreaming about the fic and an egg, and then me writing my fic and mentioning eggs? Woah!
> 
> Christy S: Chivalry is not dead! Not in fanfic anyway. And yes, it is Belladonna, but I've always despised Bella that I'm showing my contempt for her by not even mentioning her by name. She sucks. Belladonna sucks. And I hate her name, too. What's it gonna be? Bella or Donna? Make up your frickin' mind, you ditz! Oops... sorry, didn't mean to rant, all this reading on cholera is makin' me a little sick.
> 
> StevDown: Glad you're liking the Remy/Rogue... but Kurt doesn't take much center stage in my fic. Sorry =P
> 
> Neurotic Temptress: Yes, I hate the I'm-in-love-with-my-fiancee-she's-my-first-love-bit bit. It's taxing on my nerves, and I had very little stamina or patience to introduce that kinda complication into my characters' lives. Besides Belladonna sucks. (See rant for Christy S.)
> 
> Morphimal: Wow... I can't believe I restored your faith in the true art of fanfic writing... that's quite an achievement, isn't it? Making a difference, one reader at a time... hahaha ... just kidding... er... sorry =P
> 
> Jess: All I can say is keep reading. But thanks for wondering~!
> 
> bunny angel: You cried? I tried to make this one pretty sappy, too, but I think it came out a little overbaked. If it's too much, I'm really sorry.
> 
> Classic Tinker: Awww~~ I love how you completely understood the emotions passing through them when they were hugging at the end of the last chapter. Especially the part with Remy. How did you put it? "finding in her what he thought he wouldn't have..." That's exactly right! I think that's kinda the moment that Remy realizes he loves Rogue, when he's hugging her, and it feels completely wrong and right at the same time! But he's stuck in her body, and it's so completely, utterly horrible. Anyway, in one word, bittersweet. I like that word.
> 
> Flyby Stardancer: "I've been waiting for a chapter like this for a long time..." Heh heh... yeah for a fic that's categorized under romance, there aren't much chapters with romance in it. But I'd like to think that below all the action is an undercurrent of romance right? Thinking about your one true love when you're kickin' the crap out of a guy, that's what love is all about.
> 
> gecko: Yes, I am evil. I won't deny it. Nothing should be picture perfect. Nothing! And if I do end up writing a sequel, it won't have Bella in it. (See why under Christy S: above)
> 
> ishandahalf: Wow, I don't know what to say~! *sniff sniff* Ha ha ha... this thing is quite heavy~! (lifts her trophy up a few times to make her point) I just like to thank my parents, my computer, , and most of all, my readers, I couldn't have done it without your reviews or support. Marvel, I'd really wish you could hurry up and hire me already~! And to the Ishandahalf Academy of Cracked Up Fanfiction for presenting me with the "Queen of Mushiness" award. Thank you. Thank you. Cool beans, indeed. ^.~
> 
> BACK TO CHOLERA~!


	30. Smiles

By dinner time, Rogue was healed and walking. With Remy's help, she located Sabretooth's psyche and immediately she began to feel better as he tunneled his powers through her body. Still they thought it was better if they didn't exhaust Sabretooth too much, so they kept the pace slow. Her soreness disappeared, her wounds healed up quickly, but her mind still dully throbbed against her like a persisting headache. But she couldn't complain in light of how much better she was feeling, so she got up, changed out of her hospital gown into a t-shirt and training pants and stepped out of her room. She immediately noticed the vials of antidote that was set on top of Mr. McCoy's lab bench. Her body gave a silent shudder as she remembered a quiet, menacing voice against her ear, stroking her hair in frightening tenderness, and then pressing the gun loaded with the antidote against her temple. She swallowed, trying to force the memory out of her mind.

"Up already?" Mr. McCoy's voice happily interjected her thoughts. She looked up from the vials and nodded.

"How convenient that Essex had his antidotes lying around his laboratory, don't you think?" he asked her, noticing her object of scrutiny.

"Yeah, Ah'm glad it worked, too. Ah was worried that maybe Essex might have been lying to me when he said it was the antidote. But Ah guess it turned out all right. Everyone is all right, aren't they Mr. McCoy?" she asked.

"From my knowledge, yes. Everybody is showing his or her normal physical forms and normal mutant powers. And they were all up and walking in a matter of a couple days," he informed.

"Did Remy get the antidote, too?" Rogue asked, trying to ask the question as detachedly as possible.

"Remy? Oh yes, Gambit. Due to the rather corrosive nature of the antidote, I had to administer the antidote drop by drop in only the affected areas. But I am certain that all the demutagen affected cells have been eradicated. But of course, there is still the problem with him waking up from his coma."

Rogue nodded, becoming quiet. Her eyes wandered off and she calmly stared at the lab table. Mr. McCoy did not say anymore, realizing it was a touchy subject for Rogue. She stood there well over two minutes, not moving and just spacing out. Finally, Mr. McCoy nudged her shoulder, and she immediately jolted at his touch. She looked at him as if she didn't realize he was there.

"Are you okay, Rogue?" Mr. McCoy asked cautiously.

"Oh… uh… yeah, Ah'm fine." She broke into an apologetic smile that looked very carefree and genuine. "Sorry, kinda spacey…" she said, trailing off, then she walked out of the Med Bay with a rather dreamy look in her eyes and before she turned the corner, Mr. McCoy could have sworn that he saw her stifle a giggle. After staring after her in puzzled consternation, he shrugged his shoulders and went about his work.

Rogue walked out of the elevator into the hallway, heading to nowhere in particular. She was indeed smiling as she wandered aimlessly, hearing nothing but the sweet, comical nothings that Remy whispered into her mind. They discussed random things, nothing serious or heady or deep, just lighthearted chitchat.   


*Now dat's jus' depressing,* Remy said. *How can y'favorite color be black?*

*Well, it is. Ah like the color black. It has class.*

*Don't t'ink black is even a color…*

*Of course, it's a color. If it has a place in a box of Crayola crayons, it's a color.*

*Oui, but it's still depressing.*

*Fine, so Ah'm a depressin' girl. What's yours?*

*Green,* he said without hesitation.

*Shut up. You never wear green.*

*Mais, I hate de color on me. But jus' like de color itself, it's pretty, like y'eyes.*

Rogue rolled her pretty, green eyes. *And what if Ah told you Ah actually wear contacts, and my real eye color is brown?*

He paused. *Brown's a nice color, too.*

*Or blue?*

*Blue's nice, too.*

*But you ain't answerin' my question. What's your favorite color?*

*Green,* he said again. *I know y'don't wear contacts, chere.*

Rogue smiled again and then with a surprised thud, she slammed up against something hard and sprawled backwards onto the floor. She looked up in shock to see what she bumped into and saw a really big man towering over her. He turned around to see who had run into him.

"Excuse me," he said and offered her a hand. Rogue recognized Piotr.

She took his hand and he hoisted her up with ease. Rogue looked straight into his eyes, not even aware that he might have been uncomfortable. A joyous grin was on her face, as she scanned his eyes that were blue and focused and a little nervous.

"Can ya see okay?" Rogue asked him.

He was a little taken back by the sudden question. "Yes… I am fine, thank you," he recovered, a hand behind his head in modesty.

*T'ink you're making him nervous, Rogue.*

*What?* Rogue asked, and then noticed the closeness between her and Piotr. She stepped back a respectable distance and remembered to take back her hand too. He looked rather shy and soft-spoken, which seemed like a direct contrast with his massive body and Schwartzeneggar-like presence.

"I am sorry, but who are you?" he asked after a short pause of unsuccessfully trying to recall her from   


his memory.

"Oh," Rogue smiled in apology. She forgot that Piotr probably couldn't remember seeing her considering he was blind when he first met her. "Ah'm Rogue. Ah tried to rescue you back at the Acolyte base? You were kinda blind and Essex's men were chasin' ya…"

"Rogue," he said, nodding in recognition of the name. "You said you were Remy's friend." "Yeah," she said, smiling again.

He nodded again, and scratched his forehead. For a hired goon of Magneto, he seemed pretty tame.

"Hey, Petey! There ya are, mate. I've been lookin' all over for you!" St. John came behind Piotr and punched him in the arm. When he finally got to look around the big guy, he spotted Rogue and suddenly his eyebrows twitched in a rather James Bond-ish manner. "Why hello," he said, his voice deepening almost a full octave.

*Mon dieu, he's alive an' kickin, ain't he?* Remy said.

"Hi," Rogue said and gave St. John a bright smile as well. She couldn't help it. Maybe it was Remy's relief to see them that was causing her to be so amiable. Or maybe she was actually glad to see them recovered when she had witnessed one go blind and the other go crazy. Or maybe, it was just the idea of meeting Remy's friends.

*Hey Rogue.*

*Yeah?*

*Y'better stop smiling at John like dat, he's a li'l sicko, and he'll start getting ideas.*

*Huh?* Rogue looked up and found St. John eyeing her from head to toe.

St. John suddenly elbowed Piotr. "Well, aren't you gonna introduce me?" he said sideways to Piotr but still kept a sly smile on Rogue.

"What? Oh," Piotr cleared his throat. "Rogue, this is uh… John."

*Really sorry, Rogue,* Remy sighed.

"St. John Allerdyce, at y'service, madam," he said with flair and added a bow, his wild red hair sweeping grandly with him. "You said your name was Rogue? Now how'd a pretty girl like you get a name like that? What's your real name, Sheila?" he asked, his voice dripping with honey.

"Well, it ain't Sheila," Rogue tossed at him. By now, she looked upon John with the same cynical eye she was usually accustomed to giving people. St. John smiled, apparently he liked the sassy remark.

"Well, then, let me ask you a question, Rogue," he cooed, his voice suddenly changing and stepping closer to her. "Did you come from heaven? For I never saw an angel fly so low."

"Excuse me?" Rogue said, her eyes squinting at him.

*Jus' tune him out, Rogue. He can go on f'hours like dis.*   


"Your eyes are like two magnificent orbs of dazzling green, and your skin is simply aglow with divine beauty… and cripes, you have an incredibly killer body for a teenager," he grinned lecherously, leaning into Rogue. She leaned back as far as she could. Piotr had moved aside awhile back, and stood looking quietly out the window. "I would love to comb my fingers through your incredibly silky hair while I recite love poems and name stars after you…"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Rogue burst out finally, and she violently shoved him away, which sent John sailing across the hallway and sliding across the polished wood floor into the foyer. "Ya sure that antidote worked on ya?" Rogue yelled.

"Unfortunately, yes," Piotr said monotonously.

John broke out into a fit of laughter on the floor, hooting at Rogue's reaction. She looked back at him, not really knowing what to say. The front door opened and Jubilee and Amara walked in, then stopped to look at Pyro sprawled before them. He turned on his side to look at them.

"Hello, ladies," he said, his eyebrows twisting a la 007.

*Is this guy for real?* Rogue asked Remy.

*Told you he's a li'l sicko.*

*Ah don't get it, why is he not in a strait jacket?*

*St. John's into writing cheesy, romance novels as a side job,* Remy said, realizing it wasn't that good of an excuse. *B'sides, he'll end up finding a way to burn t'rough de strait jacket,* he finally added.

Rogue was speechless. She looked at St. John who was now reciting poems to the two young girls who stared at him in aghast confusion. Then she looked at the gigantic, stoic Piotr standing guard in quiet melancholy against the window pane. And then there was Remy between them. Suddenly, a short laugh burst from her. She covered her mouth, turned around and laughed to herself as she headed towards the kitchen.

*Somet'ing y'gon' share wit me, chere?* Remy asked curiously.

She recovered from laughing. *Just tryin' ta imagine yall workin' together. Ya must have looked like the Three Stooges.*

*Yes, well, now y'know why I liked t'work alone,* Remy confessed.

Rogue laughed again, wiping some tears at the corner of her eyes. When she entered the kitchen, she found Jean fixing dinner with Rahne. It must have been their night to cook dinner. She walked in. Jean looked up and smiled at Rogue politely, then resumed cutting some mushrooms.

"Hey, Rogue, you up and walkin' already?" Rahne asked, as she stirred something over a stove. It was probably pasta. Jean only made pasta. It was the only dish in her so-called culinary repertoire that was edible.

"Yeah," Rogue answered, but she noticed the rather tense atmosphere in the kitchen. And finally, Rogue remembered how her last encounter with Jean went, and how Jean wasn't too happy with her. Rogue could tell that Jean was trying to be civil, considering Rogue saved her life and all, but it was still a little awkward for both of them. For a brief moment, the kitchen was filled with only the sound   


of the pasta bubbling in the boiling water and the slow chopping noises of a knife on a cutting board.

Then there was a yelp and a half scream as Amara and Jubilee came bursting into the kitchen, adeptly about-facing to shut the kitchen door. Another loud thudding noise was heard as St. John slammed up against the door that they were desperately trying to close.

"Wait, wait, you haven't heard stanza four, yet!" he yelled amicably, worming his arm in the crack of the door.

"GO AWAY!" Jubilee and Amara screamed in unison and then slammed the door on St. John's arm. He hollered in pain and jerked it back out, and the girls promptly shoved the door shut, and latched it so that it was locked from the outside. They finally leaned on the kitchen door sliding down in exhaustion.

Rahne gave a short laugh. "Man, I didn't even know that door had a lock on it." "That guy is crazy!" Jubilee cried.

"Are we sure he got the antidote?" Amara asked to nobody in particular. "That's the same thing Ah wanted ta know," Rogue tossed.

"Know what?" Kitty appeared from out of the kitchen wall, and everybody literally jumped. "Sheesh, guys, it's not like you shouldn't be used to it by now. Mmmm… what's cookin', good lookin'?" she asked snaking her way behind Rahne to peek at the stove.

"Pasta." Jubilee answered without even looking. Jean shot her a look. "What! That's what you always cook!" Jubilee said defensively.

Jean looked at her. "Well, since you're here anyway, might as well give me a hand in preparing dinner. Jubes hand me the tomato sauce in the pantry will ya?"

"Oh no, no way! You're not suckering me into helping you. It's your night to cook! Besides I have to do all the cleaning with Bobby anyhow!"

"Well, if you're in here, you help. And if you don't want to, then just get out," Jean coolly tossed. "Fine by me," Jubilee shrugged. She got up, unlatched the door and peeped out.

"Darlings! Did ya miss ol' St. John?"

The door slammed back shut again, and the lock clicked in place. "Where was the tomato sauce again?" Jubilee asked Jean.

Jean smiled and tipped her head towards the pantry. Jubilee got up to retrieve the sauce, mumbling "no good…lazy… can't even use God-given telepathy to get the stupid sauce…"

"What was that?" "Nothin'."

"Kitty can you cut the rest of the mushrooms for me so I can set the table?"   


"Okidoki!" Kitty said, in her always perky manner and grabbed the kitchen knife with gusto.

Amara got up and stood next to Rahne as they took turns in stirring the pasta. Kitty chopped and Jubilee shortly came out with the sauce. Jean went into the adjoined dining room with a tray of waterglasses. Rogue got up slowly, grabbing the silverware and quietly followed Jean.

"Hey," Rogue said as she placed the silverware onto the table. "Hey," Jean answered.

"Ya still mad?" Rogue asked after awhile. Jean stopped, smiled at Rogue and shook her head no.

"I'm sorry, Rogue, if you thought I was upset. It's just a lot of crazy stuff happened, and I'm not even sure if it did happen. Just kinda surreal, you know?" Jean said, setting the glasses down onto the clean white tablecloth. "Besides I owe you my life, how can I be mad at you?"

"Ah'm sorry about your sweater. And your lipstick." "Lipstick?"

"Nevermind."

"I wasn't upset at the sweater, Rogue. It's just that… well, I guess I thought you and I were, you know, finally connecting as friends back in that bathroom. And well, it just hurt that you were using me to skip school…"

Rogue nodded. "Ah'm sorry if Ah hurt ya, but well, Ah just had a lot on my mind during that time." "Yeah," Jean agreed.

They finished setting the table, and not having anything physical activity to distract them with, they stood in their awkward silence again. Finally, Rogue broke the ice. Not just the immediate one, but the one that always existed between them. The insecure relationship between them that neither really had a good explanation for.

"You know, Jean, Ah admit Ah'm not wild about ya," Rogue said. "Oh."

"But Ah consider you as my friend."

Jean looked up at Rogue, then smiled at her, genuinely touched. "Thanks, that means a lot," she said, and her eyes glistened in the light.

"You're not gonna start cryin' again, are ya?" Rogue asked, putting her sarcasm back in.

Jean shook her head and laughed. "That Duncan thing was very embarrassing by the way. Can't believe I bawled like that."

"How is Duncan by the way?" Rogue asked.   


"Well, he actually got dumped by the French girl. Or at least, that's one of the rumors. There's another rumor that Pietro might have seduced her away from him. And there's another rumor that she went back to France. In any case, she broke his heart like I wanted her to, and he came crawling back to me a couple days ago."

"Oh Gawd, ya didn't say yes, did ya?"

Jean shook her head. "No way. Besides, the same day I said no, he asked Vera Johnson out."

"What a jerk," Rogue commented. She tilted her head and gave Jean a studied stare. "So are ya satisfied now?"

"What? What do you mean?" "You know, with your revenge."

Jean laughed. "Oh Rogue, that was just my emotions speaking at the time."

"So you're not up for any further ex-boyfriend torture?" Rogue asked, crossing her arms and giving Jean a challenging smile. Jean paused, both her eyebrows raised in surprise.

Jean then narrowed her eyes and asked in a hush whisper, "Why? What do you have in mind?" "Let's just say Ah know this Amelie girl, and she can help you get back at Duncan."

"What?" Jean asked and they entered back into the kitchen, conspiring quietly together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunning's Original Author's Note:  
> Sorry, about updating this so late, but I wanted to post this chapter with the next one. So read on, yall~!


	31. Love

There was a light rap against the large mahogany door.

"Come in, Rogue," Professor Xavier said, not even looking up as he lightly shuffled his bill stubs and filed them in his desk drawer.

Rogue cautiously opened the door and entered. She smiled a hello.

Rogue was glad to see the Professor up and healthy, she was glad to see everyone up and healthy, but the Professor especially. She didn't exactly know when she started feeling this way, but she began to see the rather fragile nature of the Professor. Perhaps it was because he was approaching an elderly age, but there was something about him that Rogue wanted to protect. She didn't know what, but as she sat across from him in one of his plush armchairs, she knew she had grown a little attached to him.

"Are you sure you can walk around already? You don't seem like a girl who just woke up from a coma a few hours ago," he said smiling and finishing up the last of his bill filing. It was a comfortable atmosphere for both of them.

"Yes, well, Sabretooth is helpin' me out," Rogue said. "Ah'm feelin' a lot better."

The Professor nodded. He knew that Rogue was able to use the powers she had absorbed previously by cooperating with her psyches rather than ignoring them. He was only sorry that he was preventing her from confronting her fears sooner. At the time, it just seemed Rogue wasn't ready for something as scary as answering to the hundreds of angry voices in her head. And to a certain degree, she might have never been ready. She needed someone to support her, comfort her and steady her while she did, and although the Professor thought that he could have been that someone, now he believed there was only one person that truly could have.

"And Remy, how are you doing?" the Professor asked, out loud. Rogue looked up at him in surprise.

There was a slight pause. *Doin' fine, Professor.* "Good to hear that," the Professor said.

Rogue smiled at the answer. A silly thought suddenly entered her head. She felt like she was introducing her boyfriend to her Dad for the first time. Not that it was the first time the two met, but the quasi-awkward, but good-intentioned atmosphere was very reminiscent of such an encounter. She began to feel bad about keeping Remy secret from the Professor in the first place.

The Professor finally shut his desk drawer, and wheeling out from his desk, his chair hovered closer to where Rogue was sitting. He put his hand out above Rogue's, but didn't touch it. He looked at her face.

"May I?" he asked.

Rogue nodded. He gently put his hand down, until Rogue could feel the thin, wrinkled warmth of the Professor's skin against hers. He stroked his thumb over her knuckles and there was a triumphant grin in his eyes.

"I am sorry, Rogue, that I couldn't help you with your powers. But I am overjoyed that you were able to do it without me," he said, looking down at her hand against his.   


"Thanks for helpin' me back there with Essex," Rogue said. "Oh I didn't do much. Just told you a direction."

"Yeah, and it was the right one."

He smiled at her. Then sighing, he gave her a final pat on the hand and then pulled back with his chair, his brow wrinkling with thought again. "Well, then the only problem left to solve is the matter of bringing Remy back into his body."

She nodded, her eyes becoming thoughtful as well. The Professor steepled his fingers and leaned it against his chin.

"When I took refuge in your mind Rogue, and I found Essex there, I began to notice that all of us had different psychic signatures," he said.

"Psychic signatures?"

The Professor nodded. "I can pick up on the psychic signatures of people, and there are many categories out there. A female signature is different from a male. A normal human from a mutant's. But I noticed that as a telepath, Essex did not have the same signature that most telepath's possess. And Remy's signature is quite different from the signatures of the other psyches, too."

"Couldn't that be because Ah absorbed all of Remy and only a partial piece of the others?" Rogue asked.

"Yes, that is definitely the reason why," the Professor agreed. "But the interesting thing is, the other psyches possess the same signature as you, Rogue. Remy has his own."

"What does that mean?" Rogue asked.

"This is only a theory at the moment," he started. "But I believe that after you absorb a psyche, that psyche attaches itself to a host, the host being your mind. Remy is a full psyche, and does not need to rely upon you, so in a way he is a separate entity in your mind. Remy told me that he can understand the psyches, can hear them talk, yet I cannot. I thought maybe it was because I was refusing to listen, but when I went in your head the second time, their noise was lost on me. In a way, I think Remy can converse with them the same way you can converse with them because he is a complete entity, more complete than the presence of a telepathic mind, and the psyches use him much like an auxiliary host second to you."

"Ah'm not sure what you're getting at, Professor."

"When I went into your mind to quiet the psyches, I attacked them. Every time I attacked them, it was like a direct attack against your mind. Thus, it is rather impossible to remove any of the partial psyches in your head without causing you tremendous amount of pain. Actually, removing the psyches from your mind could be fatal, because they are integrated into your very being. Remy, I think, is different. He does not need a host, and he has not integrated with you. That is why you cannot read each other's thoughts and he can block you from using his powers. There exists a barrier between you two. And because he is so intact in a full, independent psyche form, removing him from your mind is theoretically possible. And your mind should not be damaged by it either. His presence in your mind is quite similar to mine or even Essex's."   


Rogue tried to digest the meaning of the Professor's words. If Remy was like the Professor and Essex, then didn't that mean Remy could excuse himself out of her like the Professor did? Or perhaps she could push him out like she did with Essex? But in order to remove Essex, she had to kill him in her mind. Did that mean she had to kill Remy, too? Rogue didn't know if she wanted to do that. She didn't know if she was capable of doing that.

"Professor, are you askin' me ta kill Remy in my head, like Ah did with Essex?" Rogue asked, fearful of the Professor's answer.

Much to her relief, the Professor shook his head no. "Remy is not a telepath. He cannot travel from one mind to another. If you kill him in your mind, his mind will just die and his body will be forever trapped inside a coma. We need a way to transfer his mind from your body to his own, fully intact, like the way it came in."

"But how?" Rogue asked.

"I am not sure, Rogue," the Professor said. "If you will let me enter your mind once more and let me study how your mind supports Remy in contrast with the partial psyches, then I might be able to give you a more definitive answer."

Rogue thought it over. "Ah'm okay with it if Remy's okay with it." "Remy?" the Professor asked.

*Don't have anyt'ing t'lose. But give Rogue a couple more days t'heal. Her body might look okay, but her mind took a bigger beating during de fight wit Essex. Not all de psyches have recovered yet. An' it might jus' aggravate dem if you enter.*

The Professor nodded. "Of course."

*By de way,* Remy added. * 'Preciate y'taking de boys in. After all de trouble de Acolytes have caused f'you an de X-men, jus' want to say dat it was grand of you t'help us out.*

The Professor smiled. "I gladly help any mutant that needs it. They may stay here as long as they would like. You may stay here too, Remy, once we get you back into your body."

Rogue smiled, thinking how nice it would be if she and Remy could fight on the same side and lived in the same building.

*I'll t'ink about it. T'anks f'de offer,* Remy replied. But from the way he said it, Rogue got the feeling he was doubtful that he would stay.

"Please do not mention it," the Professor said. And with a good-natured smile, he added, "By the looks of it you might have a talent in helping mutants how to control their power. Rogue was one of our toughest cases, and you helped her tremendously. Please consider staying, it would be for the benefit of many, I believe."

*T'anks all de same, but f'some reason, can't really see m'self here. Have de shady background an' all, m'not sure if I'd fit in.*

"Ah, well, there are many of us here with a so-called 'shady background', Remy. Besides, whether you like it or not, you have already been accepted into the lives of the X-men. I believe three of our   


younger girls took a shine to you." 'Scuse me?* Remy asked.

"What are ya talkin' about?" Rogue asked in curiosity.

The Professor chuckled. "Well, I believe Jubilee read somewhere that reading to a person in a coma helps the patient revive. And it is quite true, I have seen it happen in the past. So Jubilee, along with Rahne and Amara, decided to read to you, Rogue, while you were comatose. Of course, since Remy was in a coma also, they began reading to him as well. And I am sorry to say this, Rogue, but from what I heard from Hank, the girls fight over who gets to read to Remy."

"You're jokin' me," Rogue said. She bit her lip and then broke out into laughter. The Professor chuckled again. Although Remy didn't laugh out loud, she felt his laughter as well.

They talked for a few more minutes, Rogue, Remy and the Professor, and finally, the clock struck ten and Rogue excused herself from the Professor's study. They each bade each other a goodnight, and Rogue left, feeling more pleasant as the night went. As she shut his study door behind her, she saw Logan enter through the front door into the foyer. He grimaced when he heard the sound of squealing girls from the second floor. It was Friday night, and the kids were allowed to stay up late on Friday nights. Logan turned on his heel and was headed back out the door when Rogue stopped him.

"Logan," Rogue called. He turned around at the voice. Then tipped his head at her.

"Hey, Stripes. I see you're out of the coma," he said blandly in that same gruff manner. Nothing seemed to faze the man.

"So ya noticed?" she replied jokingly.

He gave her one sharp pat on the back and threw in a half-smile. "Good to see you alive, kid."

"You too, Logan," she said, and then another girlish squeal escaped down the stairway. Logan cringed. "I better get leavin' before Chuck wants me to put 'em to bed."

"It's Friday night, Logan, don't think they'll be sleepin' until after midnight," she said.

"That's fine," Logan said, his body halfway out the door. "It's happy hour at Harry's anyway."

"Hey Logan," Rogue said again, as he stepped out onto the porch. She followed him out. "What happened to Magneto that day?"

Logan rubbed his chin. "Essex had him strung up like a guitar and was feeding electricity off his body. Had him powering the whole building. Sabretooth got him down, and my guess is they left before we did."

"So he's alive, right?"

"Don't think it's that easy to kill them," Logan said. "Why you want to know?"

"Kitty told me that someone blew the whistle on Hartwell Labs, and Ah just got this feelin' that it was Magneto," Rogue said, leaning against the doorframe.   


"Got the same feelin' too," Logan nodded. "Wouldn't be too happy if I was Essex right about now. If he survived, Magneto's mighty pissed at him."

"Ya know, Essex told me he owned half of all the biogenetic labs in the world. Even if Hartwell Labs and its sister companies go down, wouldn't he have a thousand other companies still in commission?"

"Sure, but my guess is, that after the Hartwell incident, the authorities are gonna be breathing down those company's shirts. Testing on mutants is one thing. But testing on humans is another. If I was Essex, I'd lay low for a couple years until this thing blows over. But it's gonna take awhile for something this huge to subside."

Rogue nodded. "Is it true that Essex made a clone of Pyro?"

"Yeah. Now that I think about it, when I first saw them do surgery on that kid in New York, I was probably seeing them working on the clone and not the real thing. It makes you wonder if he don't got a buncha copies of the other mutants, too, don't it?" he asked cynically.

"Wouldn't put it past him. He already got an army of human clones to help him," Rogue said. Logan squinted. "Human clones? How do you know he's been clonin' humans?"

"Those army men helpin' out Essex. Didn't they seem odd to you? They seemed too die-hard to be just hired cronies."

"Sure, but if the price is right," he said shrugging.

"Ah absorbed one of them. And it's weird, but Ah don't have a psyche from him. It's like as if he was soulless. His mind seemed almost programmed and unemotional. It was odd, Ah didn't think of it much at the time, but it hit me later how empty that pilot's mind seemed."

Logan looked at her, obviously disturbed from this new bit of information. If Essex was capable of creating an expendable, 100% loyal armada of humans already, then a mutant army was merely a matter of time. Logan frowned.

"The future don't look so pretty no more," Logan grunted.

"Yeah," Rogue agreed. She looked to the side, focusing on a moth trying to find its way around the porch light. Suddenly, her shoulders shrugged, and extending an arm, she lightly slapped Logan on the arm. "Hey, cheer up. It's not like we can't handle it, right?"

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"In any case, Essex has to lay low, we're off of Magneto's immediate hit list, and everybody just got saved from being part of Essex's mutant genome library, so I'd say things turned out pretty well, don't you?" Rogue said lightly, an amused glitter in her eyes.

Logan squinted. "Ya feeling okay, Rogue?"

She looked at him puzzled. "Yeah, Ah feel fine."

He stared at her for a few more minutes, and then with an indifferent shrug, he turned around and headed towards his parked Harley at the end of the driveway. "Jus' never heard you so damn optimistic   


before," he grunted and took to the stairs.

Rogue blinked. Then smiling she yelled after him, "Bye, Logan."

He lazily raised an arm and waved without bothering to look back at her.

*

*

*There aren't much stars as Ah hoped,* Rogue said, looking up at the indigo sky. It was a chilly night, and Rogue sat huddled in a blanket on the rooftops of the south wing of the mansion. It had been Remy's idea to come up here. The house was still loud and bustling, and with the new addition of St. John to the already rowdy Friday night atmosphere, Rogue couldn't even get peace locked up in her room. So Remy suggested climbing onto the roof from her bedroom window. Considering she could fly now, it was a rather easy task.

The view was beautiful though. Dark trees huddled below them, swaying to the music of the night wind. Far into the horizon, the city lights could be seen in a misty distance, across the stony, black waters of the bay. A couple crickets who had risked staying out well into the November night chirped occasionally. But all was quiet, except for the tinny, icy tinker of the wind chimes Storm hung from the balcony outside her room.

Rogue breathed quietly, letting the cold seep in through her lungs and slow the pace of her heart. Despite her newfound optimism, there were many things that weighed down her spirits. She was first, and foremost, worried as to how Remy was going to get back to normal. And then, she was worried what Remy would do if he did get back into his body. Although Remy told her not to dwell on the fact that he was engaged, it was hard not to. She wanted Remy to stay. However, his life seemed so demanding of him, and their future together looked hazy, if not grim. That is, even if he considered wanting a future with her. Rogue knew the way she felt for Remy, but she couldn't be sure how he felt for her. Of course, he was loving and gentle towards her, but it seemed that that was his general nature. It scared her to think that once he left her mind, that secure treasure chest where she can box him in and possess him solely as her own, he might leave and forget her.

*Ya seem a li'l quiet tonight,* Rogue said after a while of silence.

*Sometimes, it be nicer t'jus' quiet down an' watch de world around you,* he said simply.

*Always so deep,* she commented. *For a guy who thieves for a livin', you sure have a zenmaster way of talkin' you know that?*

*Do whatever I can to impress the femmes,* he added.

*Well, it's workin',* she said, smiling.

*Yeah?* he asked, his voice a little surprised by the quick surrender. Then he got suspicious. *Wait, it ain't ever dis easy. Dis some kind o'trap?*

*What trap?* Rogue asked laughing. *There's no trap. Ah like you when ya get all thoughtful an' intelligent.*

* 'Cause I'm not usually like dat, right?* he said, guessing at the punchline.   


*Hun, you're diggin' your own grave, here.*

Remy paused. *Mais, ain't dis de saddest t'ing yet. She don't even have to try, an' I get m'self t'make a fool out o'm'self. Jus' got me tied around y'finger, didn't you, chere?*

*Is that so bad?* Rogue asked, a playful pout in her voice.

*Merde, if you say it dat way…* he said huskily. *Y'don' know how much I want t'kiss y'right about now. How 'bout we ditch de view and y'join me on de other side?*

Rogue laughed. *Why, Remy, did ya just use a pick-up line on me?* He thought for a moment. *I guess I did,* he said. *Did it work?*

*Ya know Ah can't say no to ya,* she said seductively.

*Is dat right?* he asked amused.

*Well, yeah, Ah can't fight sleep. It'll catch up with me sooner or later, ya know?*

*Not funny, chere.*

*Ah'm sorry,* she laughed. *So you have anyt'ing planned when Ah get there?*

*Oui, but since y'never seem t'be up f'playin' strip poker wit me, why don' you decide?*

Rogue rolled her eyes. She looked across into the midnight blue, and a chill blew across her face. But she felt no coldness. Just this warm, pleasant sensation that started at the pit of her stomach and extended throughout. She closed her eyes, wondering if she could just fall asleep this way. She let her emotions carry her, beautiful feelings that she could almost reach out and touch.

*Think Ah've fallen for you, Remy,* she said quietly, submissively.

There was a silence that felt infinite. Rogue pulled the blanket closer around her, cowering into herself, afraid of his reaction. But she couldn't get away from him, he was inside her. She might have just made herself more vulnerable to pain then ever, but she didn't care. For once, she didn't care.

*Good,* Remy answered.

Rogue paused, frozen in her seat. *Good?* She just confessed her love for him, and that was all he had to say?

*Good,* he repeated.

She looked up, a little irritated by the terse remark. *What?*

* 'Cause Ah fell f'you 'bout a couple days ago, an' I'm not sure if I can handle dealin' wit dose unrequited love t'ings.*

Rogue paused, disassembling what he said. What he just told her. Rogue swallowed the lump in her throat. He loved her. And she loved him. And could there be anything so strange and messed up and wrong and so beautiful and perfect? She throttled all the piling emotions that threatened to turn her into   


a blubbering mess, instead she focused coldly on the irritation she felt before.

*Ya know you're gonna pay for wordin' it that way," she said. *Ya shouldn't play with a girl's heart like that.*

*Why not? Y'play wit mine all de time.*

*Ah do not.*

*Do, too.*

*When?*

*Every time y'say no to strip poker, chere.*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunning's Original Author's Note:  
> Well, I can definitely see the end coming now. I didn't get my May 2nd deadline, but oh well, I'll live. Besides, I guess some of you already got X-men 2 like a day before people in the states... lucky stiffs. I'm gonna go watch it tonight! I was actually worried that watching the movie might change my perspective of MY characters in fanfic world, but considering I'm pretty set on how this fic is wrapping up, I don't think I'll have too much to worry about.  
> Although I would love to individually answer the awesome reviews you guys always honor me with, I promised myself I'd go running today. So I need to go soon if I'm going to get a 40 minute workout before I head off to work.  
> So I'll leave you with two chapters. And I hope you all enjoyed it. These last two had a lot of Rogue smiling and being really happy, which is kinda me associating the "Giddy" title into the fic finally. The action is quite creepy and dark, so might as well make the romance all light and fluffy, right? Well, I'm off, so please write me if you need any clarifications... I thought I had some, but I can't think of any...  
> Oh actually, I have one. About Pyro's character. There's a lot of Pyro fans out there (figured that out the last time when I tried to kill him off) and I was actually a little nervous on how I was gonna write him. So that was my take on Pyro, crazy and a little hormonal. He really likes girls. But you know what's interesting? Pyro, according to Marvel's character bio, actually did write cheesy, romance novels as a side job. Just thought I'd let you know. Hee hee  
> Have a fabulous weekend everyone~~!


	32. Promise

When she woke up into her dream world, she found Remy directly in front of her. Before she could say hi, he leaned in and pressed his lips on hers. Her eyelashes fluttered at the sudden ambush, but she soon recovered. Her eyes drifted shut, and she leaned her head to the side as his tongue pushed into her mouth. He delved in further, cajoling her to participate. She found her arms complexing around his neck, and she leaned her body into his. His hands held her by her waist, and they slowly traveled their way up her back, sending pleasurable chills down her spine. She moaned into his mouth and finally broke away for some air.

She gave him a dazed look, and she couldn't be sure if he wasn't all woozy himself. Her arms were still tightly wound around his neck, but she gave them some slack as her slim fingers tousled his hair and lightly massaged his scalp.

"Hello," she said, once she remembered the word.

"Bonjour," he said pleasantly, giving her another peck on the lips. God, she loved French.

"Somethin' Ah do ta deserve such a fine reception?" she mumbled.

He favored her with a smile, stroking her cheek with the back of his finger. "Well, s'customary t'kiss de girl y'just confessed y'love to."

"Mmmm..." she said as she nodded in agreement and she leaned in for another kiss. "Is this what you had planned for us the whole day?" she asked breathlessly between kisses.

"Maybe," he whispered, and pulling her hair back, he moved his head down to kiss her neck. She stood still, and closed her eyes demurely, feeling the hot kisses down her throat on her collar. She suddenly felt his fingers playing with the hem of her nightshirt, as the slightly rough feel of his flesh ebbed on and off her soft skin. Rogue tensed as she felt her shirt ride up from the attention, exposing her flat stomach. Remy's hands slid around her bare waist fluidly as his kisses made its way back up her neck. She felt her body react to him, and the pleasure that came up from it choked in her throat. She swallowed, as she felt his hands climb higher up her torso. She wasn't sure if she was excited or just scared. Her fingers had frozen up awhile ago, and her arms went limp around his shoulders. Her breathing came fast and her heart fluttered up against her chest. And she was afraid that he might hear her wild heartbeat. His hand slid up her stomach, his fingers grazing the skin of her breasts, and the places he touched tingled and wouldn't subside.

He buried his nose behind her ear, but then stopped kissing. Suddenly, his hands stopped their restless searching, and resigned, pulling back down the hem of her nightshirt as they withdrew. She stood still in his arms, and then blinked, realizing he had stopped.

"Why'd you stop?" she asked, barely above a whisper.

He didn't say anything as he let her go. She looked up at him, trying to figure out what he was thinking. His face was nondescript, his hair partially covering his eyes, but then his lips shifted into a tiny lopsided smile, and he reached up to straighten her hair.

"Jus' doesn't feel right," he said.   


She swallowed. He must have realized how frightened she was, but then again, it was a bit sudden, and she just really had no idea what to do. She never had much experience with this kind of sexual tension before, and then there was Remy, who oozed of sensuality and she just felt like everything she was doing felt like a mistake. And he probably sensed that too. Damn that empathy.

She bit her lip and looked down, not really sure how she was going to look at him. This was very embarrassing. She suddenly felt his cool hand on her hot cheek, and he lifted her face so she would look at him.

"M'sorry," he said. "Sometimes… y'have such an effect on me, an'… if I don't stop sooner, don't t'ink I'll be able to, later."

She looked up at him, a little puzzled. She wasn't expecting him to say something so… serious. She reached up with her hand and covered the hand he had over her cheek. "Remy," she said, then she leaned in until she could clearly see his eyes from below his long, wayward bands. "Ya don't have to stop. Sooner or later."

"But…" he started, a little confused. "But don't y'want t'wait?"

"Wait for what?" she asked, surprised at his sudden uncharacteristic chasteness.

"Jus' wait," he said. He wet his lips again in that nervous manner, and Rogue had to smile at how downright boyish Remy could look sometimes.

"Is there a certain day that you got circled or somethin'?" she asked, and it was weird how suddenly she became the aggressor now. They stood in her room, and Remy sat on her bed, and then got up again and sat at the edge of her desk instead. Rogue looked at him, incredibly amused.

"Well, non, s'just dat," he smoothed the back of his head. "Don't y't'ink it's jus'… weird if we have sex in y'head?"

Rogue's eyes went wide with surprise and then she started laughing. After awhile, Remy joined in too. When she stopped, she shook her head, and smirked at the floor. "Well, Ah guess ya have a point," she said. "But then, what part of our relationship is not weird Remy?"

"Dat's true," he said, still sitting at the edge of the desk. She walked closer to him, and she lightly stepped in front of the desk, placing herself in between his legs and letting her hands rest on his knees. He smiled at her knowing she was enjoying his sudden awkwardness with her.

She smiled back, but there was a calming and reassuring look on her face. "But that's not what's really botherin' ya, is it?"

They stared at each other, and a warm, trusting silence stretched between them. He placed his hands at her waist and leaned his forehead onto her shoulder. She brought up a hand and stroked his hair. He closed his eyes.

"De more time I spend wit you, here," he started, his voice solemn and dark. "De more I want t'go back t'my body."

She didn't say anything, but his words, combined with his gestures and voice; it was heartbreaking. "I jus' want t'touch you." His thumb stroked her waist. "De real you."   


She put both her arms around his shoulders and breathed in the smell of his skin. She squeezed tightly. "You will," she said in his ear with quiet determination. "Ah promise."

He finally drew away from her, holding her arms and tugging them down from around his shoulders. He held her by the wrists and studying her clean, white skin that strikingly contrasted with his own light tan, he smiled.

"Girls are great, neh?" he asked, suddenly.

She raised an eyebrow at the rather random comment.

He continued staring at her hands, then flipping one over, he pressed his palm onto hers. "So small and white… like a flower, non?"

She looked at him, her eyes becoming delicate. She leaned in, and threaded her fingers through his and she gave it a firm squeeze. Then her face turned into a wry smile. "A lot of guys got beaten silly with that hand…" she said, with a feminine wilt in her voice.

He looked up at her with pinched eyebrows. "Oooh, better watch out wit what I say den."

She smiled, and punched him playfully on the shoulder. He feigned pain as he bent backwards at her light impact. When he came back up to a sitting position, her smile was lingering on her lips, but her eyes were thoughtful with an almost wistful look to them.

"Promise me you'll stay."

His eyes locked onto hers, trying to figure out what she was saying.

"Ah'll get you back into your body, no matter what. But after that…" she let her eyes fall to the floor. "Just promise ya won't leave me."

He stared at her with both his eyebrows raised. Then he bowed his head, his hair falling over his eyes. And smiling mostly to himself, he nodded.

"Wouldn't miss you f'de world, chere."

She smiled at his answer, her world becoming shades lighter. He pulled her arm until she was sitting on his lap, and he put both arms around her waist. Rogue leaned back onto him.

"Y'nervous I was gon' jus' pack up an' leave wit'out you?" She shrugged. "Just a little."

He chuckled and then his eyes turned serious as he bit his lip. "Y'know what I'm worried about?" "What?"

"How I'm gon' be able t'go around wit'out you at all. You gon' have to be by m'side every breathing moment, else I might get Rogue-withdrawal symptoms."

"Yeah, Ah hear dose symptoms are pretty bad," she said nodding gravely.   


He laughed. "Merde, how'd we get so cheesy, chere?"

She shrugged. "It's your fault." But she couldn't help wonder how brighter the world seemed ever since Remy came into it. She couldn't imagine going back to her old lifestyle. His presence was so addictive.

She got up from his lap and stretched her arms above her head, her shirt rising with her. She twirled around, her eyes glittering mischievously, aware that he was following each of her movements. "So, what should we do now? Since sex is out of the picture?" she asked, as if it was the most natural and comfortable thing to say.

"Can't b'lieve I just refused sex…" Remy said, looking at the ceiling in abject disbelief. She laughed, then pouted. "It could have been mindblowin' too, literally."

Remy groaned and miserably buried his head in his hands. She walked over to him, patting him on the shoulder to comfort him.

"It's all right. Ah'm sure we can find something else to do," she said.

"Oui, but now dat's gon' be de only t'ing I'm gon' t'ink about de whole night." "How about horseback ridin'?"

"Please, wit you bobbing up n' down astride a horse? T'ink I'll get jealous of de horse." Rogue laughed and grimaced at the same time. "Then how about we shoot pool?"

"Yes, I'm sure I can keep focused on de game, wit you bendin' over a table every two minutes," he said sarcastically.

"Okay, then, snorkelin'." "You in a wetsuit." "Fishin'."

"No."

"What can ya possibly fantasize about fishin'?" she asked incredulously.

"Have y'ever been fishing, chere?" he asked. "It's borin' as hell. An' when I'm bored, I get grabby." She crossed her arms. "So are ya tellin' me you've been bored all this time?"

He gave her a bland look then sighed, squeezing his eyes shut. "Mon Dieu, you look so hot, right now."

She shook her head, and then she sat on her bed, bringing up her legs and crossed her knees. "Then how about we do something more productive."

"Like?"

"Like figure out how to get you out."   


He nodded reluctantly. Then pulling out the chair from the desk, he straddled it and leaned into his arms. As he began to study the ground with a concentrated look in his eyes, she realized he really was trying to figure out a solution. Rogue, on the other hand, studied Remy. How his chestnut brown hair fell across his eyes, and almost seemed to have a perfect amount of disheveledness about it. He was really tall, which was a plus, because she always liked tall guys with their lean and long arms. And she didn't know what it was about them, but more than anything she loved his hands. To be exact, the limbs that stretched from his elbow to the tips of his fingers. His forearms were muscular yet elongated so they didn't look bulky. She admired the fine cording of arteries and veins, the homogenous tan and the fluid arc of his rotating wrists. His fingers were long, his nails kept trim and they looked strong and callous, yet they had the mysterious power to comfort, to caress and to arouse. Looking at them from below the cover of her eyelashes, she could almost feel them at her waist again. His thumbs anchored into her warm flesh, while his fingers flitted around all her curves and grooves. Rogue chewed her lip and quickly looked down from his hands.

"I have an idea."

She guiltily looked up at him. "Huh?" she asked.

"An idea," he repeated. "Y'know, about tryin' to get me out." "Oh, right," she said. "What do you have in mind?"

He glanced at her, and his eyes clouded with apprehension momentarily. "De Professor wanted t'study de psyches t'figure out how t'get me out, non? Well, de Professor might know a lot about de mind, but I guess m'point is, who can know y'mind better den anyone else, but you?"

"So what are you suggestin'?" she asked cautiously. "Maybe you should try n'talk to y'psyches."

Rogue looked down into her hands, and paused at the suggestion. Honestly, she didn't want to. But then, it wasn't as if she completely shunned them like she did before. During the fight with Essex and the hectic escape out of his lair, there were times when she directly pulled the energy from them, without using Remy as a liaison. So she had depended on them, and dependency amounted to a certain allotment of trust. But still, she wasn't sure. They frightened her.

She looked back up at Remy to tell him her insecurities, but came to a standstill when she saw him, patiently sitting in his chair, waiting for her answer, willing to deal with a no, even if that was his only ticket out, always doing what made her happy, always giving, never receiving.

"Sure," she said.

"What?" he asked, not actually expecting her to concede to it. "Y'mean yes? Y'want t'meet dem?" She nodded and tried to smile. "How do Ah meet them?"

"Well, see, dat's de part I'm not too sure about, but, do you remember de time when y'put up dat wall and shut me out?"

"Yeah, Ah'm really sorry about that by the way," she said.

He shrugged. "Water under de bridge, chere. Anyway, dat wall you temporarily put on me, t'ink you   


always put on dem. So if y'can lift de wall, den dey can meet you."

She nodded. She began to understand her ability to shut out things. Whenever she was mentally weak, she wasn't able to sustain that wall and could hear and see the voices. Over time, she got better at keeping them back, until she didn't visualize them anymore, only heard them.

"If Ah lift the wall, can you take me to them?" she asked, a little numb at what she was about to do. He nodded.

"Then, let's do it." She got up, and without any chance to rethink or hesitate or cower, she brought down her mental barriers, relaxed a muscle, calmed a nerve so that her defenses weren't so high. Immediately, she felt lighter, as if there was a ton of lead weights tied upon her shoulders and back that was suddenly lifted off from her. It felt like she could soar. She closed her eyes and tried to handle the sudden levity. She heard them. And she felt a wind, as they slowly wafted by her. She couldn't help but feel her fine hairs rise on its end and her whole body shiver with goosebumps.

When she opened her eyes, Remy was next to her. And taking her hand into his, he led her towards a dark void where the psyches congregated. She held tightly onto his hand, and slowly followed.

**////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////**

**Sunning's Original Author's Note (too long for end notes):**

Hello~~ I wasn't going to put this chapter in originally, because I kinda liked the sweet, innocent love thing going on between them. But I think it'd be quite unrealistic to not deal with sex. I mean I think it's amazing that I've gotten this far without discussing or even hinting about it, when this is a story about a guy and a girl being stuck in an atmosphere where they only have each other to keep company. I was almost considering letting them have sex, but then I thought if Remy was the one uncertain about it, it'd be such a wonderful "Aww~~" factor. And call me a sap, but I almost cried when I made him deliver the line: "I jus' want to touch you." Because, it just comes back to that same problem with touch that has beriddled this couple's happiness together. Anyway, thought I'd try to not-so-subtly point out a subtle point. =P

To alwaysright: Hoo yeah~! I was watching the movie (and I hate Rogue, I wanted to seriously kill her, a complete debauchery of one of the finest character in all of comicdom!) and when she was kissing Bobby, and then she started sucking him up, I was thinking, hey, if she can just treat her psyches better, she wouldn't have that problem... and then I was like, wait a minute, my story is not legitimate~~ And that was kind of a downer, but then I don't consider the movie Rogue the real Rogue, so there!

ishandahalf: Oh man, don't you think I'm way overdoing this mushy stuff. I put another chapter of mush in! And I wasn't really gonna! Maybe I'm just scared to lose my "Queen of Mushiness" award. I've gotten quite attached to it. It sits on my dresser and I use it to crack walnuts with...

Leigh: I know, I always liked it whenever a fanfic writer updated "buy one, get one free" style. Not that anyone's paying me. Darn it.

Legolas Luver: X2's special effects were jaw-dropping amazing~! I loved the part where they were flying in the Blackbird and then the two police jets come, and then Storm does that tornado-summoning thing~~ That was so cool~~ And then there was that whole Nightcrawler white house scene that was simply amazing. And man, I could go on and on about the movie. I actually wrote my essay on critical cultural studies on the movie, and how the way they persecute the mutants in the movie comes from a   


Foucaultian way of thought. My teacher really liked it!

vagabond: Yes, about the Storm using her wind to fly, I knew that, but then I probably goofed and wrote it that Rogue willed herself to fly. But I figure I can use the excuse that she wasn't really realizing how she was flying, just kinda "will to fly, will to fly" and praying litanously in her head, and then Remy kicks in with the Storm power, or something like that. (Eh. It works for me.) As for the Piotr thing, this was one of the things I was gonna clarify last chapter but I forgot. So Piotr never got cloned, it was only Pyro. Piotr just got demutagenized halfway and was running away from Essex's men. Then he later got grouped together with all the demutagenized X-men and mutants and got filed away as part of a live DNA library (they actually have these, except it's live yeast genome libraries, or live Drosophila fly DNA libraries, etc.) When Piotr doesn't remember Rogue right away, it's because when he first met her, it was in a pitch black Acolyte base, and even when they got into lighted areas, Piotr was going blind from the side-effect of the demutagen. So yeah, don't feel bad about not understanding, it's actually pretty twisted and hard to get anyway. =P

gecko: So you were bugged by the broodiness of movie Bobby? Yeah, it was kinda sad how they made him out to be such an angsty character, when the Bobby we know is that lovable prankster with that great, flyby sense of humor. And you don't know how happy I am to hear that I did Pyro okay. Whew=P Oh, and yes, Jean does use telekinesis to lift things, not telepathy. My bad. But I don't really feel like going back to change it, and besides I probably have a whole bunch of errors in my writing...

Neurotic Temptress: You watched the movie 3 times? Or is it 4 or 5 or 6 since you last wrote the review? Man, since we know so much about the comic book world and spend our lives writing fanfiction on it, we can experience the movie on such a deeper level than most people. Like I saw it with my friends, and I'm the only one who:

  1. got terribly terribly excited when I saw Remy LeBeau's name in the computer files that Mystique was going through, when she was trying to find the whereabouts of Eric Lensherr
  2. got, again, very excited when I saw Dr. Hank McCoy on TV in the bar
  3. thought profoundly at Mystique's rather motherly advice to Nightcrawler about not needing to hide who you really are
  4. And I thought this was fairly obvious, but none of my friends picked up on it, the last scene where you can see the reflection of the Phoenix flying over the water... seriously, none of them picked up on it!



GELD: Thank you for thinking Pyro sounded okay. But you know, I just write him like an average American teenager, and throw in a "mate" here and there, and I think the readers supply the accent.

Lace123: Yes, I'll say that this is a start to dealing with that relationship they have going here. I don't know, maybe I'm just a little too hotblooded, but I was really thinking about writing a sex scene... but then again, I suppose this has a rating it should stick to.

Panther Nesmith: Yes, John does seem like the hormonal type. But not movie John, he was so not, oh what's the word, Australian, for once. But I liked movie Piotr. And about how Remy's actually gonna get into his body, well, we'll just have to keep reading to find out, won't we? Although your Cerebro idea is very good. If that's how it turns out, I'll credit it to you. =P

Sammy-Chan: ten chapters in one day? Did your butt fall asleep? Mine does all the time. And I always forget to eat.

bunny angel and Isis Aurora Tomoe: I love you guys too! Hee hee =)   


Kikithe reversevamp: Hmmm... I hope you didn't read too much of the personal reviews, cuz I have a lot of movie spoilers in there... Here's to hoping you watched the movie by now.


	33. Kiss

She sat among them, and it felt awkward more than anything. She felt like an outsider in her own mind. There were a lot more of them than she thought. They swept by her keeping their respectable distance. It was odd. They were as nervous as she was. But as she tried to make herself see them more as the forces that helped her rather than the ghosts that tried to usurp her, she began to calm down and in turn, they also turned out to be more sessile and less ghastly. Some even sat. It almost felt like a crowded dark café and they were all bustling about. And as far as the metaphor went, she seemed to be the guest of honor, a celebrity that they did not know how to cater to.

Of course, if Rogue was the guest of honor, Remy was the life of the party. He was very popular. They wrapped around him, swished by him, danced around his limbs. General excitement ensued whenever Remy passed by. It was interesting how Rogue could immediately sense their attachment to him.

"Rogue, y'okay?" Remy asked.

She nodded and attempted to smile. It came out faintly. Remy put an arm around her.

"Don' be scared. De last t'ing dey want t'do is hurt you. Dis is like a peace convention. Bridge de gaps, non?" he said, smiling. Again, Rogue felt the psyches approve his comment.

"Do you feel that?" she asked. And she felt the psyches suck back, as if they were holding their breaths in anticipation of what she might say.

"Feel what?" Remy asked.

She sat quietly, feeling the atmosphere around her. She never knew her connection with them could be so immediate, as if they were extensions of her own mind. They were ingrained into her. They could probably hear her thoughts. They were closer to her than Remy. Their immediacy frightened her. And they moved away, hurt by her fear. But now she began to understand their pain, every negative thought she had of them was internalized by them too. And so she felt sorry. And they sidled close to her, accepting her apology, giving her forgiveness. Remy was right, they were just like children, except less spoiled. Well, with a neglecting parent like her, it was no wonder they weren't spoiled.

"Ah can feel what they're feelin', as if they were talkin' to me," she said.

"Dey could probably talk t'you if y'approach dem individually. What dey sayin' to you?" "You can't feel it?"

Remy shook his head no.

"They're a little scared," she said and felt their presence grow closer to her. So many years of neglect and fear, yet they immediately cuddled up to her despite all the mistreatment. "But they're happy Ah'm here," she concluded. And she almost felt a sigh of relief pervade among them.

"Dey kind' cute, non?" he asked her.

She chose not to comment. She wouldn't go as far as cute, but they were a lot less threatening than before. "Can you tell who each of them are?"   


"Not yet," he said. "Can't really tell who dey are when dey don't have any unique faces, but it helps when dey have certain abilities."

"Abilities?"

"Like mutant powers," he said. He reached out to a psyche and nudged it. Suddenly, the psyche flipped around and fell apart into five pieces.

"Jamie," Rogue said, and almost laughed at how easily she could tell. But she could discern them, almost instantly, even before Remy tested their powers out. She knew them more intimately than Remy did.

But they still felt more comfortable around Remy. A few of the psyches tugged at his coat, playfully, whistling away and zooming around him.

"Hey, hey, mind de coat, ladies," he said, as they zipped around him. "How do you know they're ladies?" Rogue asked.

"I don't," he said, and another psyches swept by and played with his hair. "Jus' hope dey are."

Rogue laughed softly, and suddenly the room stopped for a beat, and then resumed. Remy didn't really notice, but Rogue did. A psyche sidled up to her, quietly, pressing itself cautiously beside her. She looked at it. She willed her fear away, and asked it who it was. It said it was Victor Creed. Rogue recognized it as Sabretooth. She didn't say anything, but she made herself stay calm. This wasn't the scary Sabretooth that tried to kill her that night, this was just a residual psyche of him, a piece of his life energy that had been helping her and healing her the past couple days. Summoning the courage, she smiled politely and thanked the psyche for all its hard work. She immediately sensed its happiness at the gratitude, and with childish bravado, it flew off in circles and chattered nonsensically. A few other psyches began to crowd her, pushing against her to try to talk to her, gain her recognition. Rogue felt a wave of panic as too many of them began to cluster around her. She waved them off frantically and they ran away from her, some snapping, some just hurt, and they finally flew over to Remy, seeking refuge.

"Y'okay, chere?" Remy asked, the psyches looked at her expectantly.

Rogue nodded, brushing her hair around her neck in apprehension, and then wringing her hands. "Ah… Ah just need some time to adjust," she said and cleared her throat. "Let me just sit here and watch you deal with them."

Remy nodded and then she saw him just stand still, his hands in his coat pockets, his head a little bowed, and do nothing but that. She finally figured out that he was listening. She wasn't sure if he understood them, but he didn't do anything but just stand and stay silent. The voices played around him, brushed past him and through him, filling the air around him with meaningless gibberish, but Remy stood, calm and unaffected.

Suddenly, Rogue thought of what the Professor had said earlier. How the psyches were using Remy as an auxiliary host. The psyches weren't independent of her. That was why she could hear their thoughts and had more immediacy with them than Remy. For their physical survival, Rogue was crucial. However she did not offer them a listening ear or a supporting hand, thus they had no emotional host. Their desire to be noticed, to be cared for and attended to had transformed into an uncontrollable   


desire for attention, that they stole her powers and sucked anyone that she touched or brushed against. Until Remy came along.

While she was looking at the flocks of psyches that patiently waited for their turn with Remy, she noticed there was a psyche that had not left her side. She knew it was Sabretooth again. Or Victor, as he seemed to prefer from her. She had seen his past when she had first absorbed Sabretooth. And his history had been quite ugly. The man was a despicable creature, willing to do any horrendous act for money. No, not even for money, just for the sheer rush of cruelty. But the little piece of him that stood next to her she was willing to forgive, because it wasn't as much of Sabretooth as it was a part of her. In a sense, it was her adoptive child.

Victor had something to say to her. And following Remy's example, Rogue listened. He told her they had put him back when they got Remy. Because Remy was enough.

They put him back when they got Remy. Because Remy was enough. They put him back.

It repeated in her mind as if it was being played on a broken record. In a daze, she saw Remy, the psyches huddled around him, so attached to him. They loved him. That was what she sensed from them. They loved him. And like Rogue, they were afraid that he would leave their side.

Rogue swallowed. She looked at Remy, unable to blink. "Rogue?"

She sat still, without a word.

"Rogue?" Remy tried again. She finally felt his hand on her shoulder, lightly shaking her. She broke out of her train of thought. And then looked up at Remy.

"Rogue, y'okay, chere?" he asked, concern masked in his bright, red eyes.

Rogue blinked, then nodded slowly, realization and understanding dawning upon her. Before she answered Remy, she thanked Victor.

"Ah think Ah got it," she said, her voice had a slight tremor in it. "Got what?" Remy asked.

"Ah know how to get you back into your body."

*

*

With a start, Rogue jolted up from her bed, as if waking up from a bad dream. She looked at her digital clock and it was half past two in the morning. She rubbed her face with her hands and then brushed back her hair to clear the web-like sleep that still entangled her. She quietly got out of bed, so that Kitty would not wake up. She put on her slippers and a sweater over her nightshirt and pajama pants, and stepped out of her room into the hallway outside.   


The mansion was quiet. Everybody was asleep. Rogue walked at a slow, deliberate pace, as if she could almost be sleepwalking, towards the Med Bay.

*Y'want t'share wit me what de brilliant idea is?* Remy asked.

Rogue slid her hand across the panel of the hallway, finding the elevator that would lead down to the basement. *Think back to the beginnin',* Rogue replied. *When Ah absorbed you. Remember how Sabretooth was on top of me?*

*Yeah,* Remy answered. Remy had been absorbed by Rogue, until Sabretooth had tackled down both of them, sandwiching Rogue in between. Since Sabretooth was pinning down Rogue by her arms against Remy, she had come into a prolonged skin-to-skin contact with both of them. And she had completely absorbed Remy, while Sabretooth was not absorbed at all.

*Well, remember how we thought that Ah must have absorbed Sabretooth too, considering all the injuries Ah got that night was cured?*

*Sure, but Storm an' de Professor told you dat Sabretooth wasn't absorbed, since he was fully functional and strong enough to go head-to-head wit Wolverine.*

*Well, they were wrong. Because Ah did absorb him dat night.*

*You absorbed Creed?*

Rogue nodded. *The psyches absorbed you first. But normally, Ah never hold on that long. When they absorbed all of you and then started absorbing Sabretooth, they began to realize that they had absorbed too much. So they rejected Sabretooth.*

*What do y'mean by rejected?*

*They put him back.*

Remy fell silent. *Is dat even possible?* he asked after awhile.

*Apparently, it is,* Rogue replied.

*Den why only put Creed back? Why'd dey decide t'keep me?*

*It's like you said. The psyches need attention. And since they weren't gettin' any from me, they were tryin' their luck with you,* Rogue said. *And they hit the jackpot, if you ask me.*

*Den why did dey reject Creed? If dey have both me an' Creed in here, dey can have double de attention.*

*Yeah, but they were scared too. Remember how they were afraid of you. Your presence in my mind reminded them a lot of the Professor's. They were willin' to risk dealin' with one of you, but they weren't gonna risk havin' two complete psyches that might overpower them.*

There was an automated swish as Rogue finally entered into the Med Bay. She made her way across the lab, and turned the left into the hallway, still lit in that pale blue night light. To her right was the glass door that led into Remy's room. Already she could see his two feet almost hanging off the foot of the bed, tented by the crisp white sheets that covered them. One more swish. And she was in.   


It was dark inside, and she was wondering if she ought to turn on the light. But her eyes were well- adjusted to the dark, considering Remy's night vision, and she didn't really want to deal with adjusting to the bright white lights of the Med Bay rooms.

Remy's body placidly slept away, its heartbeat slow but dutifully pumping against death, but the brain activity was still on flat line. His hair was about an inch longer since he first arrived, the stubble on his cheek growing out to be a trim beard. He had lost some weight too, since he was being fed through a tube and losing muscle mass from the lack of physical exercise. They dressed him in a hospital gown, being stripped of his previous clothing in Essex's laboratory.

*Handsome devil, aren't I?* Remy asked in a sarcastically lackluster tone, unenthused by his body's worn state.

*Oh Ah dunno, given the circumstances, ya ain't half bad,* Rogue said as she stepped closer to his body.

*Den I guess love is blind,* Remy said shruggingly.

Rogue could pick up the apprehension that Remy was feeling, though. And she was nervous herself. What if this didn't work?

*So what exactly do you plan on doing, chere?* Remy asked, as Rogue looked down at his sleeping form.

*The Professor said that you haven't integrated with my mind. So Ah guess Ah can put you back.*

*Do y'know how t'do dat?*

*Ah don't know. Ah haven't tried. But there were a lot of things Ah didn't know Ah could do. Ah figure it might be just the matter of will. Besides if the psyches were usin' my power to absorb and then reject Sabretooth, then Ah suppose Ah can do the same,* Rogue said. She stood next to Remy's bed. Reaching up, she pulled out the sheets, exposing his right arm. Rogue stared at his hand, that beautiful perfect forearm, wrist and hand that she adored.

*T'ink it'll work?* Remy asked.

*Only one way to find out,* Rogue answered.

Taking a deep breath of preparation, Rogue reached down and slipped her hand into his. His skin was warm. It felt different from holding his hand in her mind. It felt so… real. She realized that there indeed was nothing as beautiful and pleasurable than reality. The flaws of reality was what made life tangible, genuine and worthwhile. Her mind's perfection was mere artifice. She stroked the hand with her fingers. And smiled.

*Ah hope this works,* she said. Remy stayed quiet.

Finally, her small hand tightly held onto his, feeling the contact between their flesh. She activated her touch. And she felt something similar to a portal opening up, but instead of looking to take anything, she focused on giving. She searched her mind for Remy's psyche. And it was easy to locate him because he was the one persona in her that she sensed the strongest. However, as she willed her power to return   


him, she felt something fight against her. Something that held Remy back. It wouldn't let him go. The psyches.

Rogue took a deep breath. And putting aside the fear and distaste she had for them, she delved deep into her own mind, until she was with them in an almost spiritual level. There was no Remy. It was only her and her own mind, and her psyches. She let them sweep by her and scream at her. Because they were angry. She was trying to take Remy away from them. But she didn't ignore them or fear them or fight them. She stood, an aura of understanding about her. She was angry too. A part of her didn't want to give up Remy in her head. Having him in her mind brought her a happiness that she never tasted before. She learned so much from him. How to feel. How to listen. How to touch. How to love. She loved Remy, she really did. And because she loved him, truly, deeply, cared for him, she had to give him back his life that he so rightly deserved.

She felt the psyches calm down. They were listening to her. Feeling her emotions and riding her pain. They understood her because in a sense, they felt the same way. But they were still uncertain. And Rogue knew why they would be. Remy was always there to listen. He was their surrogate parent when she had rejected them. So she promised them. She would not neglect them anymore. She would learn to coexist. She would be their Remy.

*Chere?* His voice echoed, as if he was somewhere far away. But she could still hear him, and that meant he wasn't gone yet. And he needed to be gone, completely. Not an ounce or a sliver left to keep her company.

She took a deep breath. Let's let him go, guys.

Without realizing, Rogue bent her head down over Remy's, and smoothing her hand over his hair, she pressed her lips onto his. There was a tremendous noise in her head, as she felt their pain and lament. But the loud bemoaning tumbled out and Rogue felt like it was her pain that the psyches were voicing. She kept still, letting them scream, and as she withdrew from the kiss, their noise subsided and slowly lulled away. All she heard was the silence of the Med Bay.

She didn't feel any different from before. There was no sucking sensation. No distinct action or reaction. She wasn't even sure if she actually did anything beside kiss him.

Until she heard a groan. It was light, barely audible. But it gave Rogue's heart a terrible jolt, as if the small sound had been coupled with electricity. She opened her eyes, and she couldn't see anything, because it was so dark without the lights. But then she saw two glowing red eyes flutter open directly below her face. She looked at them, wondering if they could see her. She didn't move. He blinked once. Twice. Then trained his eyes at her, and tried to say something but he couldn't.

His eyes blurred away from her as tears began to crowd her vision.

"It worked," she whispered in awe. Her voice filled with joy and wonder as it lightly breathed upon his face. Her tears dropped onto his cheeks. "It worked."

She put her arms around his neck and cried into his shoulder. And then slowly, one of his arms went around her, lightly rapping her back, as if to comfort her tears. But it only brought about more as she began to fully realize that she was in Remy's arms. She was really in Remy's arms. And her face was right up against his, and she was touching him. And he was touching her. And that everything was set to right.   


She turned her face to look at Remy, and he looked up at the ceiling, his face reflecting a bit of puzzlement. But then, his eyes relaxed as if they were tired, and he finally turned to look at Rogue.

She smiled. "How ya feelin'?" she asked him gently.

He didn't answer her right away. Just that same look of bewilderment as his soft, red eyes fell onto hers. And she could only imagine how weird it must feel to be in his shoes right now. He closed his eyes, and it looked as if he was going to go back to sleep. But before he did, she heard him open his mouth, and in a barely audible whisper, he said into her ear:

"De nurses here. Dey real friendly, non?"

She laughed and cried at the same time, terribly relieved by the answer. Then Remy lost consciousness. But as Rogue looked up, she saw two screens. One monitoring his heart. The other his brain. And both of them quietly blipped away.

Rogue sighed a thank you and buried her face in Remy's shoulder again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunning's Original Author's Note:  
> Hurrah~~ Remy's back in his body~! After a grueling 30 and some odd chapters, the conflict is finally resolved. About this chapter:
> 
> The psyches don't talk, I decided. No, wait, they do talk but they talk in kind of a telepathic level, which is wierd cuz it's like telepathy within a mind's mind. And yeah, so Remy can talk to them but has to really listen to them, get on a so-called spiritual level with them. As for Rogue, she is the mind, so she can hear their thoughts almost as immediately as she can hear her own. And she knows through feelings and thoughts pervaded by them, so communication is a snap, as long as she doesn't throw up that wall and shut them out.
> 
> I was going to post this up with the final one, but then decided against that. So here you go. I'm thinking the next time I update for Giddy is probably going to be the grand finale (kinda sad... *sniff sniff* I've gotten so attached to updating this story...) but anyway, yes, I will update really really soon. So if are reading this and the next chapter isn't posted yet, then check back tomorrow or something.
> 
> Well, I'm off~~ I'm glad everybody enjoyed the movie. And about Remy LeBeau's possible role in the 3rd X-men movie... I'm 1) doubtful it'll happen, if he comes out it'll be for a really lame cameo appearance or somthing 2) he's not gonna look hot enough 3) and if he is hot enough, I'm not sure if movie Rogue is cool enough to deserve Remy. It's just that Rogue is such a cool character, and they really wrecked her up in the movie, I think. If they wanted to keep her as a teen, then they should have sooooo gone with the disgruntled, spunky Goth, like she is in EVO. Oh well, what's done is done. But yeah, if they mess up Remy though, things aren't gonna sit very pretty with me. So I'm almost at a point that I'm hoping they'll just leave him alone after a mention, lest they try to work with his character and completely screw him up. But, then again, what do I know?
> 
> But on a final note, I think I've tallied the responses to the last chapter and a majority of you thought it was a good thing that I didn't get them to have sex. And there were a few who wanted to see sex. If I'll ever write a sex scene, I'm probably gonna keep it pretty soft, no porn or anything, but yeah... Don't think they're gonna have sex anytime soon though. Sorry~~ =P


	34. Awake

For what was probably the 50th time this morning, Rogue checked the mirror in her room. She had rummaged through all her wardrobe and Kitty's to finally decide upon the outfit that she had on. It was the same white sweater that Irene gave her, with its sinfully soft cashmere and dove-like pure texture and a stony dark denim skirt that fell at her ankles. The skirt had two side slits that parted as she walked, swishing about and exposing most of her legs south from mid-thigh. Normally, she probably would have worn some tights with that much exposure. But considering she had control over her powers now, she decided that a little leg wouldn't hurt. Still she covered most her calves with her regularly traversed steel-toed combat boots.

She kept her make-up light, a thin line of stormy gray eyeliner and one coat of mascara for her eyes and balm on her lips, remembering that half-serious joke she made to Remy that she was saving her face for him. And she blow-dried her hair until it was butter soft and brushed it till it shimmered like silk. She mulled over several different ways to do her hair, but finally decided to keep it down, unfettered with pins or ties. Remy liked to run his fingers through her hair anyway, and she didn't really object to it either.

She looked at her reflection one last time. And couldn't help but feel that something was missing. It wasn't the outfit, or the shoes, or the make-up or hair that was the problem. It was that sense of bubbly euphoria that she had felt when she spied her reflection from time to time before. That feeling of beauty that only Remy could supply. She knew she'd probably miss that, but then again, it was probably better to not be so vain. She turned from the mirror and looked at the clock on the wall. It was 10 o'clock in the morning. Maybe Remy would be awake by now.

She left her room and had to restrain herself from running to the Med Bay. Thankfully, it was Saturday morning, and most of the kids spent their Saturdays away from the mansion. She had only run into one person along the way to meet Remy and that was Kitty. And the moment she saw Rogue, Kitty's eyes flipped and she let out a long whistle.

"Oooh," Kitty said, her eyebrows scrunched into a frown. "You got it baaad." "Oh shut-up, Kitty," Rogue huffed.

"Showin' some leg, I see," Kitty said and wiggled her eyebrows as she did a full circle around Rogue, surveying her new look. "That's a pretty high slit, but then again, gives him easy access, huh?"

"Kitty, ya better know when to shut your mouth when it's good for you. Just because I'm wearin' different clothes, don't mean that I can't hurt you none when I'm in it."

"Hey, hey, no need to get violent, now," Kitty said, and she flicked invisible dust off Rogue's shoulder. "Wouldn't, like, want to get blood on that nice sweater, you know?"

Rogue rolled her eyes and quickly got onto the elevator. Kitty followed. "Why're ya followin' me?" Rogue asked, annoyed.

"Like, don't flatter yourself, Rogue," Kitty replied. "I was on an errand for Mr. McCoy and I'm just delivering his goods, see?" She showed Rogue a brown, paper bag.

"Then Ah'll take it to him," Rogue said, and tried to grab for the paper bag but her hand suddenly went   


through it.

Kitty shook a finger at Rogue. "Sorry, no can do. Mr. McCoy personally asked me to bring it to him." "You're such a dork, Kitty," Rogue sighed.

Kitty smiled sweetly. "What are you so worried about, like, I'm not gonna bust in while you guys make out on the gurney."

"We're not gonna make out!" Rogue turned on Kitty. Then looking at Kitty's face, she finally bit her lip. Kitty suddenly burst out laughing and Rogue reluctantly joined in.

"Sorry, Rogue," Kitty said. "I'll give you some privacy once I deliver this to Mr. McCoy, kay?"

Rogue pressed her fingers on her brow and shook her head side to side. "Tell me the truth, Kitty? Am Ah makin' a complete fool out of myself?" Rogue asked, and indicated her dress.

The elevator door parted and Kitty stepped out first. Then reaching out, she took Rogue's arm and pulled her into the hallway of the basement floor.

"Rogue, you're in love. Why the hell should you care if you are?" Kitty said. Then in her jolly manner, she ushered Rogue into the Med Bay. "Besides, hair that gorgeous can't be a mistake."

Rogue let Kitty push her along. When they got into the Med Bay, she saw Mr. McCoy watering his plants. He turned at the sound of the door and nearly dropped his water can when he saw Rogue.

"Save it," Rogue bit off before he could say anything. Behind Rogue, Kitty quickly gestured to Mr. McCoy to let her go.

"You look very nice, Rogue," Mr. McCoy said, after clearing his throat, pushed his glasses up and shot Kitty a quick glance.

"Thanks," she muttered, and looked down at her feet, letting her hair fall in her face. Then as if trying to physically remove her self-consciousness, she gave a quick shake of her head, at which her beautiful hair danced to and fro in the light, and looked back up at Mr. McCoy. "How's Remy?"

"He hasn't awakened, yet," Mr. McCoy informed, putting down his water can in the sink. "But it's natural for him to be tired. Very few are lucky enough to wake from comas."

Rogue nodded, and immediately, she forgot what she was wearing or how she looked, because really all that mattered was that Remy was okay. She gave Mr. McCoy a grateful look, and he winked at her.

Last night, after she put Remy back into his body, she fell asleep next to him. It was almost sunrise when Mr. McCoy woke her up. He was a little shocked to find her there, but then, he was more shocked to find Remy's brain activity back to normal. Rogue told Mr. McCoy that Remy had woke up and even talked to her. She stayed with the doctor as he did his tests on Remy, measuring his status, and Mr. McCoy had happily reported that he was merely in a deep sleep and should awake sometime in the next day. When she went back into her room, she saw Kitty awake and Rogue had told her that Remy was okay. When Kitty wanted to know how, Rogue tried to explain, but considering Rogue really didn't know how it worked herself, she just ended up sleepily talking to Kitty about anything and everything, mostly about Remy. When she woke up, she was asleep in Kitty's bed and Kitty had already gone out.   


Rogue had been hoping that Remy was awake by now, but she probably shouldn't rush his recovery. She hadn't seen or talked to him for several hours, and she was already missing him. It was kind of pathetic, but Rogue had gotten quite accustomed to seeing Remy in her sleep and talking to Remy during the day. But since he was in his own body now, it seemed like he had been gone for a long time. She wanted to at least see him sleeping.

"You can go in, if you'd like," Mr. McCoy said, when Rogue pointedly looked at the left corner of the hallway. "Just tell me if he wakes up."

"Just go in and wake him up already, for goodness' sake, he's been sleeping for like, like three or four weeks now!" Kitty blurted.

Rogue glared at her. "Didn't you have somethin' to deliver?" Rogue asked, giving Kitty a look that wanted to ask why she was still here.

"Oh… uh… right," Kitty said, and then she moved over to Mr. McCoy holding up the paper bag and conspicuously shaking it in front of his nose. "Hey Mr. McCoy, I brought you that special delivery that you requested early this morning."

"What?" Mr. McCoy asked, looking at the bag in puzzlement.

"You know, that thing, that only I could bring?" Kitty asked, her voice reaching and her eyes trying to send a knowing wink.

"Oh, right, of course…" Mr. McCoy drew out. He took the bag and opened it. "Donuts! Of course, yes, the donuts that I… asked you to bring… and that only you could bring… because…"

"Because… these are… these are… the special donuts that only I can get from the guy at Winchell's," Kitty finished. Then she peeked across her shoulder to see Rogue's reaction to their corny cover-up.

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Well, you enjoy those top-secret donuts," she said dully.

Finally, Rogue moved over to the hallway and her hand fluttered over her stomach, trying to steady the sudden flops it was doing. She was kind of nervous. And why shouldn't she be? It's not everyday you get to meet the guy you love for the first time. Cautiously, she stood a few steps away from the glass door, so that she would not trigger the automatic opening mechanism. Instead she remained at a safe distance outside the glass door and looked inside at Remy sleeping. His head was on its side, hair falling over his eyes. She watched the slow rise and fall of his chest as he slept. Suddenly, she saw his right hand move across his body and scratch his left arm. Rogue's heart skipped a beat seeing that. She let out an antsy breath, and stepping forward, there was a swish that resonated across the room, and Rogue went in.

She took two steps and Remy's eyes suddenly flew open. Rogue froze. He remained still as well, looking at Rogue from below his bangs. Rogue stared back, and they didn't say anything, only looked at each other.

"Hi," Rogue finally said, a little above a whisper. She smiled, but Remy's steady eyes on her, it was nerve-wracking. There was something in the way that he looked at her that was making her nervous. Making her stomach turn. Was she this nervous to meet Remy? Or was it something else?

Remy narrowed his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something. And it was so quiet that Rogue   


couldn't hear it. But Rogue didn't ask for him to speak up, because she wasn't sure if she wanted to hear it.

*

*

There was a large clatter and Mr. McCoy and Kitty stopped their conversation over the donuts. It came from inside Remy's room. Curiously, they both got up and headed towards the room. Kitty wondered if they really were making out on the gurney.

Suddenly, the automatic door swished open and Rogue ran out. She stood there for a moment, her head bowed. Then a hand moved up, fingers that trembled against her temple before they sank into her hair, wringing at her beautiful locks. She bit her lip and her eyes wildly shifted back and forth across the floor as if she was searching for something. Then she squeezed her eyes shut, and both her palms were pressed up against her ears.

"Rogue?" Kitty asked. "Rogue, what's wrong?"

Rogue jumped at Kitty's voice, then looked at her. "Kitty…"

"What's up?" Kitty asked, and she looked inside the room. He was awake.

"It's… it's Remy…he's…" Rogue whispered, her voice strained and almost in awe.

"What's wrong with him?" Mr. McCoy nudged Rogue aside and went into the room. Kitty moved closer to Rogue, putting both her hands on Rogue's shoulders.

"Rogue. What about Remy? Tell me what's wrong," Kitty asked, noticing Rogue's nervous tremor and erratic breathing.

"He…" Rogue said, and a terrible look of confusion crossed her bewildered face. "He doesn't remember me."

Kitty stood still, holding Rogue by the shoulders. Rogue's shoulders began to shake. "Oh God, Kitty, he doesn't remember me…"

Numbly, Kitty's arms went around Rogue. She looked through the glass at Remy, who sat disoriented on his hospital bed, staring up at the Beast with obvious confusion.


	35. Sunset

It was a beautiful morning. The sun was up. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. The bright rays shone upon every surface, coaxing all life to come out and play in the light. Yet it was deceptively cold. Try as it might, the light had no warmth. The frigid autumn air kept the trees bare, and only the silence of decay basked in the sunlight.

But even the light didn't reach Rogue's room. She lay in her bed, the curtains pulled shut over the windows, trapping darkness inside the walls of her room. She pressed her cheek down into her pillow, her eyes closed in fitful sleep that rarely came, and her hair pooled around her like a dark halo. She didn't know how long she was like this. And she didn't really care. Maybe this time, she could just die like this, and all the better since she didn't have to drag Remy with her.

Remy.

Shut-up, she said to the psyches. And pulled up that ever-faithful wall in her head. And she could hear them scream at her. It was better to just hear them scream. When she removed the wall, she could feel their direct emotions and that was just torture beyond words.

"It's not amnesia," the Professor had said.

How did she exactly react when she saw his eyes blankly look up at her and then at the room? As if she and the room were one in the same, a group of jumbled mystifying implements in an unknown world. Where am I. Who are you. Despite what she could have said to answer those questions, he would have had the same reaction to any answer. The Med Bay. The girl you love. All the same thing.

He can't remember. Why can't he remember? "It's not amnesia."

No, of course it's not amnesia, dear Professor. Amnesia would mean he couldn't remember anything. Like his name, or his age or anything from his past, right? But he remembered those things. He could remember everything. Just not her.

No, wait. Maybe she was flattering herself too much. There were other things he also couldn't remember. Like what had happened to Pyro or the Acolytes or Magneto. What did he ask Piotr? Oh yes, he wanted to know why Sabretooth was there that night when Magneto only told him and Pyro to scout the men that worked for Hartwell Labs. Not Hartwell Labs, Gambit, it was Essex. But then that was lost on him as well. Even after they tried to explain to him what had happened while he was sleeping…

While he was in a coma…

You were there the whole time, Rogue wanted to shout. The Professor thought it was better not to tell Remy that he was absorbed by her. The amount of things that had changed from the world he remembered was plenty shocking to deal with, adding the problem with Rogue would only further confuse and frustrate him.

"It's not amnesia." Then what is it?   


Memory is a funny thing, isn't it? It slips in and out of your consciousness like sand through your fingers. Amnesia is a problem with recollecting that memory. But it's not amnesia, is it, Professor? No, amnesia would give her some kind of hope. Toss her a light in the darkness that she could fixate on. Maybe he could remember. A conk on the head or something or other, that she saw on TV, make him remember her. But that would be too kind for something that life could dole her. No, it wasn't amnesia.

"Our minds remember things, recollect pasts, but it needs a place to store them. Remy's mind was in your mind and he was using your brains and neurons to store his memories. But once restored to his body, his brain never stored any memory of what had happened after he was absorbed into you. To Remy, that memory never existed."

Life had played a cosmic joke on her. They made her fall in love and gave her the gift to painfully remember every excruciatingly blissful detail, and then it made the whole thing null. It never existed. Don't ask him to remember. It never existed.

Please say it happened though. It did happen, right? But if no one remembers it, how can anybody argue that it actually occurred? The Professor knows it happened. Kitty knows it happened. Maybe even Mr. McCoy or Logan or Ororo…

There was a sharp shaft of light that pierced the darkness of the room. Kitty walked in, holding a tray of food. She walked in quietly, not turning on the loud overhead lights, but opting for the dim lamp that stood on her dresser. She sat on her bed, setting the tray on the bed stand.

"Rogue…" she said softly. Rogue didn't answer.

"Rogue, don't do this. You have to get up. At least, eat something. You keep this up and you're gonna die."

Do you think I'm crazy, Kitty? You never saw him love me. You never heard the things he said. All you knew was that Rogue had absorbed a guy to the hilt and started hearing a louder voice in her head. She fell in love with the voice in her head. Isn't that just so nutty, Kitty? Shouldn't someone tape me up and send me to the asylum?

"Rogue, please…" Kitty pleaded. "At least say something." "Go away," Rogue whispered.

All of you, just go away. You stupid psyches, just shut up when I tell you to. Screaming's not going to bring him back.

Kitty drew back away from her bed in resignation. But as she moved back to the door, leaving the tray where it was next to Rogue's bed, Kitty stared at Rogue's lying form, her eyes narrowing and her voice becoming cold.

"He's leaving tomorrow." Rogue stiffened.

"He's going away, back home to New Orleans. You can't let him leave, Rogue. Not like this, not without him knowing. For God's sakes, you love him."   


Yes, but he doesn't love me. What do I tell him, Kitty? You don't know me, but in my mind, we were in love? He'd probably take me for some loony mutant girl who had a psychotic crush on him.

"Rogue…"

So it's back to New Orleans. Perhaps he can go marry that girl after all. And why not? It's not like he knows anyone better.

"Rogue…"

"Leave me alone." Just leave me alone.

*

*

Remy didn't really have anything to pack. He borrowed a shirt from one of the guys in the mutant school and told him that he'd mail him a replacement once he got home. He made a few phone calls to the Guild, and they confirmed what had happened to Magneto and the Acolytes. Like the X-men said, it was one of Magneto's hired doctors, Nathaniel Essex, that double-crossed Magneto and fueled a plan to possibly clone a mutant army. It was all very heady, and Remy chose not to dwell upon it. In any case, the Guild wanted him to report to New York City for further arrangements. But he knew they would eventually send him down to New Orleans to settle that marriage agreement. And maybe, he would stop running from it now. If this was any indication of how his life would be if he kept being a freelance thief, then settling down on the Bayou didn't seem too grotesque.

The X-men were quite hospitable. He woke up to find himself under the strict eye of a large, blue furry doctor named Hank McCoy who wouldn't let Remy touch solid food for two days, until he was properly weaned with applesauce and soup. Of course, it helped to find Piotr and John there. They were both relieved that Remy had awakened out of the coma, but for some reason they seemed to have conceived the idea that Remy had somehow involved the X-men from day one. That Remy had asked a favor of the X-men to watch the backs of the Acolytes. Piotr especially was puzzled when Remy told him that that wasn't the case. But in general, Remy was confused and dazed and terribly disoriented.

He was in a coma for about two and a half weeks, and a lot could happen within the Thieves' society during that time. But a lot happened regardless of which society he was in. He wondered where Magneto and Creed were and what they were up to. Remy had a lot on his mind, and the sooner he got back into the swing of things, the better. Piotr was planning on to stay with the X-men until he figured out what his next move was. Remy never asked much about his past. He knew that Piotr had a little sister and she might have been the reason why Piotr was working under Magneto, but Remy couldn't be too sure. As for Pyro, he was headed back down to Australia for now. To visit the parents, he said. Remy was pretty certain that John didn't have any living parents, but he assumed that John had something else lined up for him job-wise down there. So they were going their separate ways. The last of the Acolytes disbanding under the roof of the X-men. Magneto would have had a fit, Remy thought wryly.

Remy looked at the time. It was a quarter past six. The girls were asking him to stay for dinner, but he had to get to his apartment, pack and head to the city. So he refused. They each made a genuine look of disappointment and gave him a parting gift, "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens. Apparently, they had read it to him while he was in a coma, and since they never got to finish it, he might as well read it through to the end. Disoriented as he was, he was fairly amused by their antics. If his situation   


permitted, maybe he would have stayed a little longer. Before he left, he gave them each a peck on the cheek and promised to read the book. They giggled and then suddenly ran away in a hurry when St. John showed to see Remy off.

The Professor came out, too. Remy only saw him on the television time to time, advocating peace between mutant-human relations, but he was really surprised to find the man actually, genuinely caring. He was almost fatherly towards Remy. There was something that the man was holding back, wanted to say but then cowered and this Remy was a little curious of, but after giving Remy a card with the Xavier school number on it, he retreated back into the mansion on his hovering chair.

Giving John and Piotr a final wave goodbye, he walked away from the mansion and over the grass, towards the end of the driveway. He was almost at the gate, when he, for some unexplicable reason, had to turn around and look back at the house one more time.

As he did, his eye caught onto the figure of a girl, leaning on one of the lampposts in the front lawn. She was thin and looked like an invalid, with her skin pale, almost as pale as the white sweater she wore. She watched him with haunting eyes. There was something in her manner, as if she was at a funeral wake and forgot to wear black. He watched her, unable to look away, her sorrow-filled eyes were captivating in a disturbing way. White stripes in her hair billowing in the wind, and then he began to remember who she was. She was there on that night when Pyro went crazy, and she was the one that Sabretooth had attacked. She was also there the morning he woke up from his coma, except her eyes were so bright and welcoming then that he had not associated her with the girl he was seeing now. Remy brought up a hand to wave to her. And he saw her pause, a flash of pain passing before her calm facial features as if he had just struck her.

Confused, Remy finally turned away from her, walking down the rest of the distance off the mansion grounds. But something nagged at him that she was the key to all the mystery that surrounded him. He turned around one last time, but she was gone.

*

*

"It's me, Remy. It's me," she said. But her quiet voice got lost in the wind, and he never heard it across the distance between them. She watched his retreating form, his trench coat billowing behind him as his figure became smaller and smaller. "It's me, Rogue."

Suddenly, he turned. And they looked at each other, him from the gate, her from the front lawn. And all Rogue could think about was his sweet, soft baritone voice against her ear when he spoke.

"You real beautiful, chere."

"And I'll be dere t'help you de whole way, non?"

"After dis, we take a long vacation, non? Jus' you an' me, on a warm beach, an' we do all our t'inking dere."

"Don' t'ink I ever held anybody like dis b'fore. Jus' feels… different." "Y'give life a chance, and sometimes it has dis tendency t'surprise you."

Remy suddenly lifted his hand up, waving good-bye. And Rogue almost choked seeing that. She felt the   


hot tears in her eyes, the vice over her heart and the pressure in her ears. Then he turned away, his collar flapping against his face in the wind, and walked through the gates, and out of her life.

"Wouldn't miss you f'de world, chere…"

Rogue ran, the biting cold air nipping at her face and making daggers out of her tears. She didn't know what she was thinking when she went out to meet him. She didn't know what she was expecting. But seeing him, just walking in his long, trench coat, pulling up his collar against the cold, watching him be so animate, it made her want to hope all over again. That somehow he would turn around and remember her. And take her in his arms and apologize for not doing it sooner. She just wanted to hear him again and not a bunch of old memories that was pounding against her head and making it so hard, like a bad nightmare that she couldn't wake up from.

But it was seeing him that made her realize that this wasn't the bad dream. This was real. It was their past that was the dream. It was a long, elaborate beautiful dream, too fragile to exist outside of her mind.

When Rogue stopped running, she found herself out of breath and sobbing in a wooded area. It was familiar though. Stepping forward, she saw the grassy knoll that she had once sat and watched a sunrise at. Expectantly, she looked to the side and saw a charred mark in the grass, still black from the two rocks that exploded against it. Behind her were the slopes of the mansion rooftops. And all above her was the clear sky, changing hues into the softest shades of gold and red as the sun dipped into the far western horizon. The light was almost gone, and she had not even known it was up.

Her legs gave away, and she crumpled onto the floor. Burying her face in her arms, she began to cry. Her shoulders heaved. Her chest wracked with wretched sobs. Hot tears coupled with sorrowful whimpers escaped into the coming dusk. She cried and cried and cried. She cried until she was exhausted, lying in the natal form on the dead grass.

The cold wind blew over her and dried the tears on her face. Rogue lay there, quietly, waiting for the darkness to arrive. When she finally opened her eyes, it was night. The sun had set, and the moon hung above her. A couple stars peeped out. It was a clear night, serene and vapid. Phantom sobs still clung to her breath as she picked herself up from the ground and looked across at the soft, blinking lights of the city's skyline.

Clouds began to move in, obscuring the moon, but as they billowed across, low and heavily, it brought in a warmer gust of wind as it insulated the earth below. Rogue wiped the grass that stuck onto her tear-dried face. Surprisingly, she felt better.

Stepping out over to the edge of the cliff, she stood at the precipice and watched the water below. She inhaled the night air and closed her eyes. The cold winds numbing her thoughts.

"Rogue?"

It was Kitty. She came from behind, and then she wrapped up Rogue's shoulders in a soft, fleece blanket. Then she leaned onto Rogue's back, her arms circling her friend's shoulders.

"Rogue, you're… you're gonna be okay, you know. You'll see," Kitty said.

Rogue opened her eyes and watching the clear white clouds dip across the sky in carefree avarice, she nodded. She turned from the view. "Let's go in," Rogue said, her voice sunken from crying.   


Kitty nodded, and taking Rogue by her arm, they walked back towards the mansion.

*~ fin ~*


	36. Author's Note

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As the person reposting this, I just want to say that if this means something for even one person, it will have been worth it.

Author's Note:

Before you drag me out to the town square and give me a public stoning, let me first apologize for giving you such a sick twist at the end. And secondly, permit me to explain why I felt that "Giddy" had to end this way.

First of all, I never liked the idea of Remy being stuck in Rogue's mind and them falling in love that way. I thought it was quite a crappy idea. But I just kinda haphazardly wrote the first chapter and even though I thought it was a bad idea, the story started writing itself in that direction. Even then, I still didn't like the idea of them falling in love in Rogue's head, so I wanted to hurry up and get Remy out, but then the demutagen thing came up, with the psyches and then, and then, I got a whole other twisted idea in my head of how this story could evolve. I just can't believe how full-blown this thing got. So here's my point. Giddy is like a prequel to the actual story. It just got to be a very long prequel. And the problem I leave with you is a necessary evil to fuel the coming events.

So with that said, I guess you kinda know now that I'm gonna be writing a sequel. And maybe this will make some of you feel better to know that, if "Giddy" had a happy ending then I probably wasn't going to write a sequel after that. But since, you got such a depressing ending, there's definitely gonna be a follow-up to this story. I already have a lot of the sequel plotting itself out in my mind with a whole new set of twists and turns, so if you can forgive me for this tragic ending, please join me for the second time around. It'll be fun.

Besides, Rogue's not Rogue without angst. And I'd say that the way this story ended, she's gonna have some pretty angsty problems, no? Oh, man, it was tough writing the ending, because I got so attached to writing their love scenes... that's probably why I dragged on the romance a little at the end, because I knew that in the grand finale, it was going to be so sad... and anyway, I'm sorry if this gets some of you depressed.

Okay, then, I just want to thank you again for reading this far. And I don't care if I sound vain, but I love reading the reviews. I think you guys and your input really got the ball rolling on this story, and got me to produce (holy cow) 35 frickin' chapters of fanfiction. Although after this chapter, I might have to lay low a bit. Really sorry if you're terribly pissed at me. Dah well! I'll see you soon for the sequel. Stay healthy till then.

Love, Seven

Just as a long postscript, let me personally invite yall for the sequel and I really have to individually thank you, because well, I feel like my regular reviewers have become almost like family to me. So here goes, I'll try to get all of you~!

(Not in alphabetical order)

icy discordia: hmmm~~ I guess I did throw you for a loop, didn't I? I was going to clarify in the last chapter where Rogue thinks back to that night when she kissed him and his nurse comment seems to alleviate that weird freaky tension. But then, Remy didn't do or say anything that really told us that he knew it was Rogue, it's just his same ol' dry sense of humor kicking in. Evil irony. That joking charisma that Rogue finds so charming kinda bites her in the butt by giving her artificial relief and gets all her hopes up. =( Anyway, hope you're not too mad at me.   


Tevrah: Thanks for reading~! I really appreciate your reviews and yunno, it's really uplifting that peeps are enjoying the fic!

Leigh: To my dear, hyper, sugar-pumped Leigh~~ =D Well, I don't think you're gonna be really Giddy now, huh? But giddy is a funny word. It's happy, but in a very artificial way... I'm using the word artificial a lot, my brain must be going dead or something, but anyway, yeah... it's not like "happy", where it might be genuine, but it's like a high, something that's bound to wear out. So there you go. Oh, but the stage is set, don't you think? For some mega drama in the sequel? I'm gettin' all giddy thinking about it~! I hope to see you then~! Thanks for the cheerful reviews!

Isis Aurora Tomoe: Thanks for the support! I promise more mushiness and a lot more intimate scenes in the next time around!

Leina: Hmmm~~ I promise you some sex scenes in the sequel. But nothing too risque~~ I'm a pretty prude girl. ^.~

Classic Tinker: What can I say? You're reviews are so analytical sometimes it makes me nervous. But they're really dead on. I'm a weird girl and I get a kick out of subtlety, and it makes me truly happy when there are readers who look beyond the explosive action and the fluffy romance, and try to look at the undertow... it's just fanfiction, but still, I always get a little wigged out posting something up, cuz it seems kinda final you know? It's posted, and whatever errors or points that I might later regret putting has been uploaded for everyone to read. Anyway, as pathetic as it sounds, it's like baring your soul for everyone to judge. And it just feels nice when there are reviewers that really takes the time to analyze it~~ Thanks~

me-chan: That's okay if you didn't review, but I appreciate you speaking up at the end. And see, you're part of the author's note, now! (If that's of any value) But yeah. "Wouldn't it be weird/ironic if Remy had no recollection AT ALL of what happened with his psyche in Rogue's head?" bingo~ I'm seriously a little scared on how much hate mail I'm gonna get for this. But the more I think about it, there's no way Remy should remember what happened in Rogue's head. If he did, all my crack science wouldn't make sense~! But anyway, let me put your "mind at ease" by telling you that there will be a reckoning where Rogue comes roarin' back with her broken heart! Man, I'm gonna have so much fun writing the sequel. So I'll see you then~~

pietro_kitty: Remy is back in his body. And we should all be happy that he at least got back, right? Right? Keep a look-out for the sequel, kay? I'm not sure what the title's gonna be, but I'll keep the same pen name.

beth: I hope you don't love the story just because everything worked out for the better so far... but I don't think I'd have much to write about if Remy came out okay and he and Rogue fall in love and everything is honky dorey... we need another conflict to solve. And I didn't like Rogue all comfy cozy and mentally healthy. That girl's the best to write and read when she has serious psychological problems. Sad for Rogue, fun for us. Hope you agree. See you in the sequel. But I don't think I'll be writing any lemon scenes... but the sequel's going to be a tad-bit racier than "Giddy". =)

Green Eyed Lilys Daughter: "whatever tension there was there... or maybe I was imagining it... I'll have to think about that a bit." The nurse line was a tension breaker. Since I'm writing this in Rogue's perspective, your relief is Rogue's relief. But Remy got you all fooled, huh? Sorry. But anyway, I'll see you in the sequel and I'll look out for your name or your acronym (GELD) and hopefully we'll all have some more fun then. As for who will be in the next sequel, we'll just have to wait and find out!   


Pookie Sanchez: Yeah, that's what I heard too about not putting Gambit in the movies because he's a lot like Wolverine (which he isn't!) but anyway, they did have an actor picked out for Gambit for X2, and they did end up filming like a 30 second cameo, but he got cut from the movie during editing. Oh well, as for Anna Paquin being the Oscar winning actress... well, kudos for her, but she's still no Rogue. I'll see you in the sequel, Pookie~

SarahColdheart: Good grief~ Ha ha... I'm sorry I just love that line. Sweet Charlie Brown. Anyway, I'll see you for the sequel, kay?

Legolas Luver: Well, I've updated. But I'm not sure how I stand with you anymore. Maybe I should have just you hanging, right?

bunny angel: I worry a lot about you. I'm not sure if you're really crying when you read my fics, but I felt like crying when I was writing it... especially when Rogue's like crying in the end. Poor girl... Anyway, this'll just keep her in Goth mode, don't you think? We'll see how this impacts her in the sequel. There's more sunshine to come, so take care till then. And I agree with you, NO ONE can play Gambit, he's just way too cool~~

mnemosyne23: using your metaphor on the Thanksgiving dinner, was the ending kinda like, eating the pie and finding out that it was like moldy? Heh. Thank you for the really nice compliment about the supposedly "phenomenal characterizations," I try my best. Hope to see you in the sequel!

ishandahalf: I think I am the most afraid of your reaction to the end of this story. I don't know why, but I can totally envision you getting your armada together to come and attack me. You and that evil genius head of yours. But yeah, there wasn't any mush like you hoped... well, it was kinda like evil mush... so I guess I might just return my Queen award... aw, man... anyway, I don't think I'm gonna get too far without hearing your mad, cracked up rants, so I'll try to get the sequel up and going. But give me a couple weeks to recuperate and get my grades back up~~ =P I think I'll really miss you, seriously~ Anyway, you better be there for the next story!

Beautiful Disaster: Wow, I feel so honored that somebody referred my story to a friend. That's like soo hecka cool. Anyway, welcome to the X-men fandom. And welcome to the let's-get-Remy-and-Rogue- together society, and I don't understand why it should be anything else, those two are seriously made for each other in my books. So, I hope you'll check the site now and then, for a sequel and I'll try to expand my vocab a little, there are words like "lackadaisically" that I might use a little more redundantly than I should... ha ha

Brendii: Thanks for the compliment. Intricate storylines, huh? Yeah, and I kinda end up getting a lot of people confused in the process... =P I hope I'll see you for the sequel.

Toothpicksfromhell: First off, your penname is fantastic. Second, 32 chapters in one sitting? Sorry for the late shout-out, but thanks for reading. Seriously, that's a whole lotta words to read.

The Flying Pen: Here's to hoping that while I rest a little and prepare myself for the next sequel, that someone doesn't take my story and create a better spinoff for it. Man, that'd piss me off. Anyway, thanks for reading, Pen, I'll see you next time. Watch out for the Mafia folk.

Panther Nesmith: Well, here's how it ended. Hope you're not too disappointed. You and your fanfic- fanatic sister~ Hope you'll join me for the sequel~~ Gosh, this is like frickin' campaigning for reelections or something... think I'm overdoing with this personal shout-out stuff...?   


Christy S: Yes, I love my cliffhangars. And then I also like droppin' you guys off of it. Sadistic nature. Sorry for bein' so cruel. But maybe I can redeem myself in the sequel. I'll see you then, kay?

StarrFire: Hurrah~ thank goodness for the spell checker, huh? I type it in MSword first, and you know all those green and red corrective lines. Remy says one line and it's like everything he says is grammatically incorrect. =P Figures.

Flyby Stardancer: *shudder* AP tests. Thank goodness those are over, huh? Here's to better times in my fanfic world and no more standardized tests.

Grinning Contrivance: Well, I'm glad you're impressed! I hope you're still impressed after this chapter though. And not just annoyed. Amnesia is sooooo soap opera-ish, but hey! it's not amnesia! Well I'll try to hone my updating skills for the next story. =)

Lucky439: Well they ended up not getting married and having kids and riding off into the sunset... but they're only teenagers! I'm a strong believer in that teenage romances don't last and it's better that the relationship has to endure some serious trials to keep it strong and unbreakable~!

Lace123: To the future English teacher. I hope you liked my trial at the stream-of-consciousness style in the last chapter. I had so much fun writing it. Have you read Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner? I tried to mimick him a little with my Rogue, especially when he wrote in the perspective of suicidal Quentin. But I didn't go as crazy as Faulkner did, cuz that'd be like too puzzling.

Ginny: I'm glad you decided to review me~! I'll try to keep the sequel entertaining too. Lots of cool action scenes lined up. It'll be dopey fun~!

Rogue LeBeau: Thanks for reviewing~ Always happy to add a new perspective to the whole Rogue and Remy romance thing. And judging by your name, I think you've probaby read a lot of em. =) Jean's gonna be in the sequel, too... and I'll keep in mind that you don't really like her...

Lulu: Wow, I inspired someone to write. Of course, in my case, I've read so many bad fics that I was like, "that's it! I'm gonna write one the way I want to see it written! Grrr~~" I just hope that wasn't the case. ^.^a

Neurotic Temptress: Yunno, I always love reading your reviews. Even if you start going off on mad rants that are usually pretty tangential... they're terribly amusing. but yeah, I'm looking forward to what you got to say about the ending here. Please don't hate me. =P

rogue star: Yeah, Remy's such a sweetheart, isn't he? Although this story is more leaning on Rogue as the main character and this is probably at first glance, a Rogue tragedy. But if you think about it, Remy doesn't even know Rogue, he doesn't even get the sweet memories. And you have to wonder if that's something to be pitied. You know how they say, "it's better to have loved and lost, then never to have loved at all." Well Rogue loved and lost, but Remy is like, he never loved at all... Sad =( Anyway, I'll try to get a story going on in the sequel to redeem these two.

sabby13: Yunno, I think when I said that their dreamworld was kinda like "honeymooning" that's probably why you kinda got the idea that they already had sex. Cuz what do you do during honeymoons, right? But anyway, an error in my part. I hope I'll see you in the sequel.

snow queen: Here's the end. Ta dah. =P   


StevDown: I hope I'm still on your fave list after you've read this. Heh heh...heh.

Ambrosia: Ahhhh~~ my dear Aussie reviewer with what I call your streaming spunky reviews. I have to first agree with you that I was deeply perturbed by the way they killed Lady Deathstrike. Because she was under mind control, she wasn't really a bad mutant, so it was like really horrible that she just died when she didn't really deserve it. And you're right, in the comic books, Yuriko was the long lost fiance that Logan loved... How so sad. Anyway, I always love reading your criticism, as wild as they are, it's like going on a roller coaster ride. But I'm glad you like the death and action, skip to brady- bunching, skip to romance and sex, and finally end at heartbreaking separation. Hopefully the last part didn't come too abruptly, I tried to hint during their whole romance bit that it was kind of a doomed relationship... with Rogue always getting grim doubts and such... Well, I hope you're there for the sequel. And hopefully, I won't piss you off too much with my writing! ha ha ha =)

Denial: You told me that you liked the fact that they're friends and not just lovers. I like that. But the end of this story has almost like pressed a reset button on them... kinda deflating, really... all that angst and it's so null, except for Rogue... but their lies the complication in the next part! See you then!

faeryeyes: I'm glad you liked "Giddy". It was a lot of fun for me to write. Hopefully, the sequel will be the same... =)

Okay, I've written soooooo much already. I'm getting quite tired. If I didn't get to you. I'm really sorry... honestly, I tried. But I'm so exhausted! Okay, I'll see you for the sequel~

Bai bai~~


End file.
